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Luxor is the world's greatest open-air museum,
filled with the awe-inspiring monuments of
ancient civilization. As west it was the capital
of Egypt during the New Kingdam ( 1567 - 1085 BC
), as Thebes it was described by Homer as "
the hundred-gate city " Its later name, Al-Oksor.
means "City of the Palaces" Testaments
to a desire for immortality, built for eternity
in sandstone and granite, the temples, tombs and
palaces still stand, surrounded by souks and
luxury hotels.
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East Bank
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| Karnak |
Temple
of Luxor |
Karnak |
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The Great
Temple of Amun "Karnak"
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To follow the chronological order of the Great
Temple of Amun would necessitate beginning at
the E. however, today, to make sense of the
temple it is necessary to enter at the W end.
First is an Avenue of Ram-headed Sphinxes,
probably erected by Amenhotep III or Horemheb
but later usurped first by Ramesses II and again
by Pinudjem. This leads to the incomplete First
Pylon (130m wide).
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Temple of Luxor:
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Just N of the Ministry of Tourism offices,
facing the river is the Temple of Luxor, temple
of the Southern Apt or Opet. Here Amun-Min, the
fertility aspect of Amun, was worshipped with
Mut and Khonsu, who formed the Triad of Thebes.
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Luxor Museum:
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The Museum is situated between the Templates of
Luxor and Karnak. It houses pharaonic relice
from Luxor and the nearby areas.
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West Bank
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| Ramses
II Temple |
Luxor
at the Nile |
Mortuary
Temples |
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The Ramesseum :
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Ramses II's stupendous mortuary temple at
western thebes inspired Shelley's sonnet "Ozymandias"
. Its murals record the renowned Battle of
Kadesh.
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The Colossi of
Memnon:
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The Colossi of Memnon (Ar. al-Sanaman: the Two
Idols). These two immense figures of Amenhotep
III sat in front of the mortuary temple of the
king.
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The pylon, probably of mud-brick, has been
washed away as for centuries this area was
within the inundation zone. The main temple,
which stretched W behind the statues, has been
entirely destroyed, but it must have been a
magnificent building. Merneptah (in the EM)
removed the stele on which Amenhotep recorded
his work. On it the king claims that he built
the temple of 'white sandstone, wrought with
gold throughout, its floor covered in silver,
Unfortunately it was systematically robbed to
build the temples of the later kings.
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Madinat Habu:
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There is a cluster of buildings including the
Habu Hotel (accom. basic and only for the hardy,
but refreshments available for the casual
visitor). Dominating the site is the Mortuary
Temple of Ramesses III (fee), second only in
size to the Great Temple at Karnak. It usually
suffers by being the last monument visited but
it is well worth a protracted morning tour.
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Queen Hatshepsut's
Temple:
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Hatshepsut set in a fold of the Theban Hills
with the cliffs as a splendid backdrop. Designed
and built by Hatshepsut's steward and architect
Senenmut, it rises in a series of terraces to
the sanctuary. It was known as Djer-Djeseru and
she dedicated it to her father Tuthmosis I, Amun
United -with- Eternity, and herself, at a place
probably already sacred to Hathor in her aspect
of Goddess of the West. This temple is one of
the most remarkable structures in Egypt. It is
said to have been inspired by the tomb-chapels
of some of the Middle Kingdom nobles at Qaw
alKabir (Middle Egypt), but whatever the
antecedents the result is very striking.
Recently the walls built by Senenmut to hold
back the friable rock have been uncovered and
augmented. Long after the temple was abandoned
it was used as a Coptic monastery, the Deir al-Bahri,
the name of which is now used for the whole
area.
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Valley of the Kings:
King Tut-Ankh-Amun's Tomb
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The road to the NW is the SIKKAT AL-WADAYN
(Track of the Two Valleys). It passes on the SW
a track to the S monuments and to the N Howard
Carter's House on the bluff immediately above.
The NW road curves through a valley leading
after 3.75km to the 'Valley of the Kings (Ar.
Biban al-Muluk; Tombs of the Kings, or Wadi al-Muluk;
as English, a local name bestowed by inspired
guesswork rather than of direct knowledge of the
function of the area. A new Resthouse has been
designed for the Valley of the Kings meanwhile
the facilities of the old one have been
upgraded. A new road will be constructed to the
valley.
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The Tomb of Tutankhamun has been closed
indefinitely for restoration. At the moment the
only tombs that can be visited are those of Seti
I, Seti II and Ramesses VI, and this last will
soon be closed for further protection. The
valley is a deep, much-river cleft in the
limestone hills with sheer walls and with many
side valleys, dominated by the Gabal al-Qurn
(Hill of the Horn) to the SW, in ancient times
sacred to a local goddess Mertseger-she who
loves silence. The first king to have his tomb
cut here was Tuthmosis I after which the
necropolis continued in use throughout the 18-20
Dyns. It contains 62 tombs, not all royal,
certain high officials were also buried here.
Some of the tombs are uninscribed, others were
never completed. There are two types of tombs.
The first used in the early 18 Dyn. (Tuthmosis,
Amenhotep III), consists of a series of
descending galleries entered by steps leading to
a rock-sunk pit or well, with the dual purpose
of taking off rain water and confusing tomb
robbers. Beyond is an offering chamber with
square columns where the king is depicted
offering to the gods. Leading from this at an
angle to the entry axis is the rectangular
burial chamber, often with rounded corners. In
the tomb of Amenhotep III's son Akhenaten cut at
al-`Amarnah the galleries and tomb chamber were
on the same axis and it was in this form that
the late 18-20 Dyn. tombs were in the Valley of
the Kings. An exception is the tomb of
Tutankhamun, but this had not originally been
intended as a royal burial place.
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Valley of the
Queens: Nefertari's Tomb
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Valley of the Queens (Ar. Biban al-Harim or
Biban al-Malikat: Gates of the Ladies or Gates
of the Queens) which runs E to W. Toilets to the
left of car park. Towards the middle of the 18
Dyn. this valley was used for the burial of
several high officials. Most of the wives of the
18 Dyn. rulers were buried in the same tombs as
their husbands and it was not until the 19 Dyn.
that this area was used for the wives and
children of the royal family. Called the 'Place
of Beauty', it was utilized throughout this and
the following dynasty but then gradually fell
into disuse. The earliest royal tomb seems to be
that of Queen Sit Re', wife of Ramesses I, while
the most notable is that of Queen Nefetari, wife
of Ramesses II.
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