Egyptian Sites in Yu-Gi-Oh!
The Yu-Gi-Oh! characters visit real and fictional places in Egypt. Here is me trying to make a list of these places and trying to figure out what real places might have inspired the fictional ones :)
Valley of the Kings (chapter 279) : Sugoroku Mutou visits the tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh in the Valley of the Kings (near the modern city of Luxor). The Valley of the Kings is the real burial place of the pharaohs of the New Kingdom. Atem having his tomb at this particular location is a good point of reference to date his reign to the New Kingdom (between 1400 bc and 1000 bc). The tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh, however, is a fictional tomb since no tomb from the Valley of the Kings have traps as imagined in the manga. Also, the Nameless Pharaoh's tomb seems much bigger than that of Tutankhamun's (who has inspired Atem's character). But its size and design are obviously inspired from other real tombs in the valley of the kings.
City of Luxor/Thebes (from chapter 281 and on) : Atem dives in the Memory World and finds himself in what is most probably the ancient city of Luxor (also Thebes). Although Atem's capital city is not explicitly mentioned by name in the manga, it can be guessed from the fact that the Valley of the Kings seems quite close to Atem's palace, in the storyline. Bakura and Mahad both travel from the palace to the valley in very short times. Also, looking at K. Takahashi's drawings, Atem's city counts a lot of palaces, temples and obelisks. Atem living in Thebes also helps to date his reign more specifically between 1400 bc and 1300 bc (18th dynasty).
Palace of Malqata (?) : Atem's palace should therefore be the Palace of Malqata which was the pharaoh's palace in Thebes at around his time. The Palace of Malqata has disappeared entirely today but has been digitally recreated thanks to archeological digs. Fragments of the wall paintings and ceilings have been recovered and can be seen in different museums throughout the world (or on the internet). The Palace of Malqata was located on the West Bank of the Nile (same bank as the Valley of the Kings). Since Mahad and Bakura are never shown crossing the river Nile, Atem's palace being Malqata makes sense. https://antiqueprofil.wixsite.com/palais3d/en/visitevirtuelle
Deir el-Medineh (?) : Is Kul Elna inspired from the village of Deir el-Medineh ? Deir el-Medineh is the village where the tomb builders used to live. The village is still preserved to this day and is located close to the Valley of the Kings where the men used to work. It is said in chapter 308, that the villagers of Kul Elna were former tomb builders that became thieves. Plus, around 1100 bc, the real tomb builders of Deir el-Medineh were involved in tomb robbery. Although the date doesn't fit well with Atem's reign, it is most probable that this historical event inspired the village of thieves of Kul Elna in yugioh. There is quite a big plothole with this theory though: since the villagers of Kul Elna had turned into thieves by the time of Aknamkanon's reign, who, then, have been building Atem's tomb?? And where have his workers been living??Nevertheless, despite the plothole, the location of Deir el-Medineh, right next to the Valley of the Kings and Malqata, could explain Bakura's aptitude to go from Kul Elna to the valley to the palace in short times.
