TOURS IN LUXOR
LUXOR
Luxor Luxor is a thriving city that bustles with life an excitement. In ancient times Luxor was known as Thebes and for a long time was the capital of pharaonic Egypt. Set on the banks of the Nile, Luxor’s impressive architecture and marvelous cultural appeal has made it one of Egypt’s leading tourist attractions. On the east bank of the city you will see many taxis, tooting their horns, passing the horse drawn carriages (Caleches) as they take the tourists along the El Corniche. Haggle in the bazaars selling the traditional Egyptian souvenirs, galabayas, shisha pipes, leather and gold to name but a few. Smell the freshly baked bread and pastries, the sweet cakes dripping with honey syrup that melt in your mouth. Try the fresh locally grown fruit, mouthwatering delicious. The city of Luxor is split into three areas, Karnak and Luxor on the East Bank, and the West Bank where you will find the famous Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsuts Temple, Colossi of Memnon, Valley of the Queens to name but a few of the ancient places to visit. Luxor Temple stands proud and prominent overlooking the Nile and the West Bank in the centre of town. Construction started in the during the period of the 18th &19th dynasties in dedication to the three gods Amun Mut & their son Khonsu (the sacred triad.) Amenhotep 111 started with the building, Tuthmosis 111, Hatshepsut, Horemheb and Tutankhamun added columns statues and friezes but it was Ramses 11 who did the major expansion 100 years after the first stones were put in place. Even Alexander the Great and later kings extended and embellished it and the remains of a Roman town can still be seen today. At the entrance on the left is the Abu Haggag mosque, built by the Fatimids in 996AD, standing above the ground level as the ruins of the temple were buried under sand before their discovery. The main purpose of the temple was to provide a setting for the annual Opet Festival, when cult images of the gods were taken in procession on land and by boat between Karnak & Luxor. Entrance to the temple was-and still is from the north, where a causeway lined by Sphinxes that led all the way to Karnak begins. This causeway which was known as the Sacred Way or Avenue of Sphinxes has now being reconstructed to look as it did in the Pharaonic times. New artifacts are continuously being dug up in the immediate area, hence new information as to the life in the ancient times. Karnak Temple lies 3km north east of Luxor centre and is dedicated primarily to the god Amun, the king of the gods in Thebes (ancient name for Luxor) With its endless courts, halls, colossi and huge sacred lake, the size of this complex is overwhelming. It stretches over an area of about 100acres with more than 25 temples and chapels in the grounds .The difference between this and other temples and shrines in Egypt is the period of time over which the building took place. One dynasty after another added to the Temple of Amun so that, from its founding during the Middle Kingdom to the building of the outermost during the 25th Dynasty is a period of 1300 years. The most famous of the remains at Karnak is the Hypostyle Hall which is from the 19th Dynasty where scenes carved by Ramses 11 and his father Seti 1 show distinct images of the king worshipping the gods. To the north of the main Temple is the Open Air museum where you can find parts from dismantled buildings and many smaller items of antiquity from all areas of the temple.
West Bank On the West Bank of Luxor there are a multitude of Temples and tombs dating back to the 18th 19th and 20th Dynasties. It is known as the Theban necropolis .In ancient times it was believed that there was life after death and that if the Kings and Queens were buried on the west bank of the Nile, they would be resurrected in paradise with their Gods in the afterlife.
Colossi of Memnon The mortuary temple of Amenohotep 111 (also known as Amenophis 111) is buried in the sand but excavations have been ongoing for years and gradually more artefacts have been recovered however the two most important remains are the two colossi that guarded its outer gates. They are gigantic statues of the king himself standing 64ft high. The one on the right was shattered by an earthquake in 27BC and after it was repaired the statue would emit a musical note as the sun rose every morning. Of course this was a big tourist attraction as it was thought the noise to be of divine intervention, but it was short lived as the statue was repaired and the singing stopped.
Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut (Deir el-Bahri) Hatshepsut, one of the few and by far the most successful woman to rule as Pharaoh, the only woman to have ruled Egypt for lengthy term, over 20 years and in that period of time kept the peace between neighbouring countries. She immortalized her reign by brilliantly setting her mortuary temple against a pyramid-shaped cliff face to create a powerful yet elegant ensemble. It is the only temple in Egypt designed in terrace form and was used as a monastery hence the name Deir el Bahri (Cloister of the sea). It is built as three terraces each at a higher elevation than the former. As a female pharaoh Hatshepsut was eager to underline the legitimacy of her rule, especially as it was being challenged by her stepson and nominal co-ruler Tuthmosis 111. When he finally came to the throne he resentfully defaced her images in the temple whilst he saved his own.
The Ramesseum The mortuary temple of the Nineteenth Dynasty king Rameses11 (c1279-1213BC), known as the Ramesseum, is one of a string of such temples that lay along the desert edge a short distance from his tomb. Unfortunately most of the temple is in ruins, but the parts of the temple that remain are nonetheless very impressive.
Medinet Habu Within the Temple grounds of Medinet Habu there are many different buildings and amongst them the Temple of Ramses 111.Modelled closely on the Rameseum, which had been built less than a century earlier, the temple of Ramses 111 is much better preserved and is second in size only to the Temple of Amun at Karnak. This temple has reliefs showing the victories of war, with the heads of the enemies being offered to the gods. The colours are very rich and clear and the reliefs very descriptive, giving us precise information into the life of the king and his many victories. Medinet Habu is also the last temple of the pharaonic period, as during the rest of the 20th dynasty, Egypt’s fortunes declined.
Valley of the Workers (Deir el-Madina) Within the Temple grounds of Medinet Habu there are many different buildings and amongst them the Temple of Ramses 111. Modelled closely on the Rameseum, which had been built less than a century earlier, the temple of Ramses 111 is much better preserved and is second in size only to the Temple of Amun at Karnak. This temple has reliefs showing the victories of war, with the heads of the enemies being offered to the gods. The colours are very rich and clear and the reliefs very descriptive, giving us precise information into the life of the king and his many victories. Medinet Habu is also the last temple of the pharaonic period, as during the rest of the 20th dynasty, Egypt’s fortunes declined.
Tombs of the Nobles Hundreds of Nobles’ (officials) tombs have been found in the Theban necropolis. The ancient Egyptians believed that the Afterlife would be the same as their everyday life so they painted these scenes on the walls of their tombs recreating their present life to follow them to eternity. These scenes are more intimate than those found in the Kings tombs, the colours very vivid giving a lot of information on the everyday life of the people.
Valley of the Queens The queens, princes, and princesses of the New Kingdom period 18th19th &20th Dynasties were buried in a valley neighboring that of the Valley of the Kings, known as the Valley of the Queens. More than 70 tombs have been found here, but only three or four of them are open to the public at any one time. The most famous of the tombs is that of Nefertari the favourite wife of Rameses 11. Her tomb is one of the best tombs from ancient Egypt with its vivid colours and exquisite drawings.
Valley of the Kings No visit to Luxor would be complete without a visit to this Royal Burial Ground that dates back to the New Kingdom period. The capital then was Thebes and not Memphis in the North, and the Kings wanted to be buried on the West Bank of the Nile so that they could live in the Afterlife for eternity. Up to now 64 tombs have been discovered in the valley dating back to the 18th 19th and 20th Dynasty but Egyptologists believe that many more tombs are still hidden beneath thousands of years of rubble and stone. The most famous tomb of course is that of Tutankhamun which was discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter, and that was purely by accident. Since then we have learned so much about the ancient Egyptians. The tombs were cut in the soft limestone by workmen living in Deir el-Medina .The digging and construction of the tomb started when the pharaoh came to the throne and each tomb followed a certain pattern throughout. Three corridors lead to an antechamber giving on to a main hall with a sunken floor for receiving the sarcophagus. Each King tells his own unique story depicted on the walls of the tomb, on his journey to the Afterlife. The colours are so vivid and the inscriptions so detailed and informative, that your mind cannot believe how intelligent and imaginative the ancient Egyptians were. There are normally 6 tombs open to the public and these are changed every six months so that you don’t have to visit the same tombs on every visit. It is fascinating to visit this Valley of the Kings, with its huge cliffs overlooking these ancient tombs, there is a feeling of magic and mystery – what could life have been like in the Land of the Pharaohs?
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