Modern day Luxor is built on the ruins of ancient Thebes, on the banks of the river Nile. Thebes came to prominence in Ancient Egypt's Middle Kingdom and was the capital of the country for most of the 18th Dynasty in the New Kingdom. It was also the major spiritual centre of Egypt for most of the New Kingdom, with it's most prominent deity being Amun, alongside his consort Mut and their son Khonsu.
In ancient times the East Bank of the Nile was where the dwellings of the living were built, and the tombs and monuments of the dead were constructed on the West Bank. On the West Bank of the Nile at Thebes is where the majority of New Kingdom pharoahs chose to dig their tombs and build their mortuary temples.
So, with this wealth of history and culture to choose from, what do you go and see?
Egypt - What to Do and See in Luxor78
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Thebes of The Hundred Gates
Modern day Luxor is built on the ruins of ancient Thebes, on the banks of the river Nile. Thebes came to prominence in Ancient Egypt's Middle Kingdom and was the capital of the country for most of the 18th Dynasty in the New Kingdom. It was also the major spiritual centre of Egypt for most of the New Kingdom, with it's most prominent deity being Amun, alongside his consort Mut and their son Khonsu.
In ancient times the East Bank of the Nile was where the dwellings of the living were built, and the tombs and monuments of the dead were constructed on the West Bank. On the West Bank of the Nile at Thebes is where the majority of New Kingdom pharoahs chose to dig their tombs and build their mortuary temples.
So, with this wealth of history and culture to choose from, what do you go and see?
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The East Bank - The Temple Of Karnak
Karnak is a complex of temples that was started in the Middle Kingdom and was the added to and extended by thirty subsequent pharoahs. It is the largest ancient religious site in the world and receives thousands of visitors annually. It has structures dating from the Middle Kingdom through to the Late Period. The vast Hypostyle Hall is probably it's most famous feature and has been seen in many Hollywood films (The Spy Who Loved Me, Death on the Nile). It's 134 huge columns set in 16 rows is truly awe inspiring. There is still a lot of excavating going on at Karnak, and there are areas of the precinct not open to the public.
Karnak is easily accessible from the centre of Luxor by tour bus, taxi, caleche or on foot.
The East Bank - Luxor Temple
Luxor Temple nestles in the very centre of the modern city, just along from the Old Winter Palace hotel, and is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful temples in Egypt. It was constructed in the 18th Dynasty, mainly by Amenhotep III and added to extensively in the 19th Dynasty by Ramsses II. Luxor Temple's main focus was the annual Opet festival, where the statues of Amen, Mut and Khonsu were brought from the temple at Karnak for the celebrations. A processional way lined by sphinxes once joined the two temples and major excavations, including the demolition of modern buildings, are being carried out to uncover its whole length.
Luxor Temple is easily accessible on foot, or by taxi or caleche
The East Bank - Other Things to See or Do
The two great temples of Karnak and Luxor are the two main attractions on the East Bank, but there are also many other things to see or do.
The Luxor Museum is well worth a visit and is within easy striking distance along the corniche. It contains an interesting, very well laid out collection which includes two royal mummies, artefacts from the tomb of Tutankhamen, talatat blocks from the temple of Akhenaten at Karnak and many other interesting pieces. At the other end of the corniche and built under it is the small Mummification Museum. It outlines the process of mummification and it's significance to the Ancient Egyptians, and has many artefacts relating to the funerary arts. Regular talks on Egyptology and current excavations are also held in the adjacent lecture theatre.
If you want walk in the footsteps of the famous archaeologists, royalty and other dignitaries go and eat or have a drink at the Old Winter Palace Hotel. Revel in it's Victorian splendour and take the air on their terrace overlooking the Nile. There are also many bazaars, shops, restaurants and cafes to explore. You will constantly be invited to 'come see my shop, looking free' and will be expected to haggle to get a good price. If you are female you will also be showered with compliments on your beauty and receive more marriage proposals than you have ever had in your life!
The West Bank - The Valley of the Kings
There are two ways that you can go the West Bank - the realm of the dead - you can either go on a tour bus or get a taxi to take you across the new road bridge or you can catch the ferry in Luxor and get a taxi on the other side. For the more adventurous camel rides can be booked!
The most famous site on the West Bank is undeniably the Valley of the Kings. It was in this lonely, wind swept valley that the pharoahs of the early 18th dynasty abandoned building pyramids and above ground structures as their tombs and started hollowing out burial places deep into the cliffs for themselves. There are 63 known tombs of kings, princes and high officials in the royal valley, but recent excavations have uncovered the entrances to two possible new ones. Of course, the most famous tomb in the Valley has to be that of Tutankhamen, KV62. Discovered by Howard Carter and Lord Carnaervon in 1922, it is the only intact pharoah's burial to have been discovered so far in the Valley.
There is a new visitors centre at the entrance and you can catch a little road train to take you up to the main valley. Take plenty of water (there is nowhere in the main valley to buy it), wear sensible shoes as there is a lot of climbing and rough surfaces to be navigated, wear a hat and use plenty of sunscreen!
The West Bank - The Valley of the Queens
The Valley of the Queens contains the tombs of between 75 and 80 Queens and royal children of the New Kingdom. The most famous tomb in the Valley is undoubtedly that of Nefertari, the beautiful wife of the the great Ramesses II. This exquisitely decorated, jewel-like tomb is very seldom open to the public, but there are several tombs that are open and can be visited.
The West Bank - The Valley of the Nobles
The nobles and high officials of the New Kingdom also dug their tombs on the West Bank, and many have been excavated and can be visited. The modern town of Gurneh was built over many of the tombs, and most of it has recently been demolished and the families moved to a new village. Unlike the tombs of the pharoahs which contain mainly religious texts and images, the tombs of the nobles contain scenes of daily life such as hunting, agriculture and celebrations
The West Bank - Deir el Medina, The Workmen's Village
Deir el Medina is the excavated village of the workmen and their families who worked on the digging and decoration of the royal tombs and the building of the mortuary temples. It was excavated and documented between 1922 qnd 1951 and has produced a wealth of material relating to the daily life of ordinary people in Ancient Egypt. Thousands of papyri and ostraca (limestone flakes that were used for recording information) have been discovered that comprise of personal letters, records of sales, contracts, prayers and examples of Egyptian literature. There are several well decorated tombs that are open to the public and a temple dating to the Ptolemaic period, as well as the remains of the workmen's houses themselves
The West Bank - Deir el Bahri
If the pharoah's chose to hide their tombs in the clefts and crannies of the Valley of the Kings, they built their moruary temples in front of the cliffs in plain sight. The most beautiful of these temples has to be that of the female pharoah Hatshepsut, built into a natural bay in the cliffs at Deir el Bahri. Hatshepsut was the wife of the pharoah Thutmosis II and took over the regency when he died and his successor Thutmosis III was only a child. She then assumed the full role of pharoah and had herself depicted as a male on temple walls and as statues. The temple rises to several levels and you can even see the roots of the myrrh trees that had been brought back from the legendary expedition to Punt and planted.
The West Bank - Medinet Habu
Medinet Habu is the mortuary temple of Ramesses III, the last great pharoah of the New Kingdom. It is famous for the reliefs of his defeat of the Peoples of the Sea and is also the likely location of the infamous Harem Conspiracy where a plot to assassinate the pharoah was hatched. It is a very large temple and continued as an important administrative centre long after the end of Ramesses's reign.
The West Bank - The Ramesseum
The Ramesseum is the mortuary temple of the great pharoah Ramesses II. It was built too close to the floods of the Nile, so only portions remain. There is a well-preserved hypostyle hall, where you can still see the bright colours that the whole temple was originally painted with. There is also a palace complex attached to the temple and extensive magazines for storage. In front of the temple is a vast fallen statue of Ramesses II that once stood about 70 feet high and would have weighed in the region of 1,000 tons. It is famous for having been the statue that inspire Shelly's well-known poem Ozymandias.
The West Bank - The Colossi of Memnon
The Colossi of Memnon are two huge statues of the pharoah Amenhotep III, that stand at what used to be the entrance of his mortuary temple. One of the statues reputedly used to 'sing' at dawn, due to damage incurred during an earthquake. Recent excavations in the mortuary temple itself have uneathed a lot of artefacts including many fine statues of the lion-headed goddess Sekhmet
The West Bank - The Best Way To See It!
To see the whole of the West Bank laid out below you in the early morning sun, book a trip on a hot air ballon. Gently glide over all the monuments, the cliffs, the villages and the green of the cultivation. It's an early start, but well worth it!