Built on the site of the ancient city of Thebes, Luxor is one of Egypt's prime tourist destinations. People have been visiting the magnificent monuments of Luxor, Karnak, Hatshepsut and Ramses III for thousands of years.
Luxor and Karnak mean a walk through history, through an open-air museum, filled with awe inspiring monuments of ancient civilization as well as some of the best preserved. On the east bank of the Nile, in the City of the Living, Luxor and Karnak Temples greet the sunrise. The sunset on the west bank throws shadows through the City of the Dead: the Tombs of the Nobles, the Valley of the Kings, Queen Hatshepsut's Temple. Be aware that more than 80 percent of Egyptian artefacts are in the Thebes area and plan your visit accordingly.
Originally the temples at Karnak and Luxor were connected with a two-mile avenue of sphinxes. Today this two-mile land parcel is slowly being purchased by the Egyptian government in efforts to restore the impressive avenue.
The Karnak Temples are the greatest place of worship in history. Here you find the famous Avenue of the Rams, representing Amun: symbol of fertility and growth, and the large hypostyle hall made immortal by its 134 huge columns. The Temple of Luxor, built by the two pharaohs Amenhotep III und Ramses II, is made immortal by the huge pylon built by Ramses II. Originally, two large obelisks stood in front of the pylon. However, only one remains, while the other now stands at the Place de la Concorde, in Paris.
Ride in a horse-drawn caleche, sail in a felucca, take a sunset cruise or see the city from a hot-air balloon.
The lonely statues of the Colossi of Memnon are the first things most people see when they arrive on the West bank, the City of the Dead.
The big attraction are the approximately sixty-two excavated tombs in the remote Valley of the Kings, not all of which are royal. The most famous are the with spectacular color-painted hieroglyphics richly decorated tombs of Tut-Ankh-Amun, Ramses III, Seti I, Ramses VI, Amenhotep II, Hur-Moheb, Tuthmosis III.
King Tut's tomb was discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon. What makes this particular find important is that the contents were untouched by robbers. The real antiquities can now be found in the Cairo Museum.
The Valley of the Queens is located just southwest of the Valley of the Kings. From 1903-1906 an Italian expedition discovered about eighty tombs. One of the most well-known tombs is that of Nefertari, the best-loved of Ramesses II's numerous wives. In her honour he built a beautiful temple at Abu Simbel.
Another attraction of the West Bank is the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut, the only female pharaoh. This mortuary temple is admired for its beauty nestled at the foot of the great white cliffs.
Luxor is accessible from Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh by buses or planes which run every day. |
