Hashim_Ramses: Luxor City

Luxor

Luxor is the world's greatest out door museum, filled with the awe-inspiring monuments of ancient civilization.

During the new kingdom (1567-1085) the capital of Egypt was Wesset which means "mace" to express the extreme authority of this city, then the name was changed to Thebes, and Homer described it as "city of the hundred gates".

. Its recent name , Al-Oqsor, means "the city of palaces".

Testaments to a desire for immortality, built for eternity in sandstone and granite, the temples, tombs and palaces, are surrounded by souqs and luxury hotels. It is 670km south of cairo.

The king Ramsess 2 Luxor temple

The River Nile divided Al-Oqsor to two banks . on the East bank, in the city of living, Luxor and Karnak temples greet the sunrise. The sunset on the West bank throws shadows through the city of dead: the tombs of the nobles , the valley of the kings , queen Hatshepsut's temple.

Today , you can walk through history ; past statues with the heads of gods and animals , beneath pillars carved with lotus buds and papyrus. Ride in a horse-drawn caleche , sail in a felucca , take a sunset cruise or see the city from a hot-air balloon.

Colossi di Memnon(Amenhotep3)

Hantoor (horse car) in Luxor

Luxor temple

East Bank

* Luxor temple :

It was constructed for the worship of god Amon Ra whose marriage anniversary to his wife (Mut) was celebrated once a year.

The construction of the temple dates from Amenhotep 3 and Ramses 2.

The entrance of the temple is a huge pylon constructed by Ramses 2. it includes two huge statues representing the king seated. Tow obelisks precede the temple, one of them still exists and the other is erected at Concorde square in Paris.

This temple is also famous by its huge columns which end by the shape of papyrus plant.

Luxor Museum

Established in 1975 to present the new discoveries in the area during the excavations .

The museum is located between the temples of luxor and nearby sites.

Face of the museum

Mummification Museum

Recently inaugurated in the visitors centre in luxor. it is the only one of its kind in the world. It houses 150 relics of mummies ,coffins, the mummification tools that ancient Egyptian physician used , and paintings representing the religious funerary rituals.

Karnak Temples

"…There is, in truth, no monument in the wide world to compare with it "

A group of temples ,lying 3km from north luxor, knownto the ancient Egyptians as "Iput-Isut", the most imposing of places, Karnak Temples are built on massive scale. The temple complex covers a hundred acres; its history spans throughout thirteen centuries.

The temples start with the avenue of rams, representing , Amon: symbol of fertility and growth . beneath the rams heads, small statues of Ramses 2 were carved.

The avenue of rams

Statue of Ramses 2 and his daughter Bent Eenat (karnak temples)

The sacred scarab for wishes

The sacred lake

Karnak obelisk

Hypostyle hall

Sound and Light show

This breathtaking show , through the exquisite lyrics , light and music ,tells the story of magnificent Karnak Temples.

The program is presented in Arabic , English ,French ,German ,Spanish, Italian and Japanese languages.

For Information : tel : 095/380100, fax : 095/371228.

West Bank

The Funerary Temples

The colossi of memnon:

The only remains of Amenhoteb 3 funerary temple.

Madinet Habu Temple

Houses Amenhotep 1 temple which was completed by Thutmose 1,2 and 3 . it also includes Ramses 3 temple whose walls are covered with well preserved religious and military scenes.

Entrance

First Pylon

Columns

Sun disk

The Ramesseum

Ramses 2 marvelous funerary temple at western Thebes . its murals record the renowned Battelle of Qadesh, that inspired Shelley`s sonnet Ozymandias.

The Ramesseum temple

Qeen Hatshepsut`s temple

(el deir el bahari)

The only women to rule

Egypt

in pharaonic era. The temple is composed of tree stories. Deir el-bahri is afairly recent nomenclature when the copts used it as a monastery in the 7^th century B.C.

Valley of the kings

These tombs are ordered by the kings of the new kingdom to be carved in the rock-faces of the valley , to safeguard them against grave-roobers.

King Tut Ankh Amon`s tomb

The most famous tomb at the valley of the kings. Dates back to 1352 BC. In 1922, Howard carter discovery of the king tut ankh amon fabulous treasures caused a worldwide sensation. The valley of the kings also houses the famous tombs of: ramsess 3,V1,amenhotep 2, seti 1, horemheb and thutmose 3.

Golden mask of king tut

tomb in valley

Seti 1 tomb

Seti 1 tomb

Horemheb Tomb Valley of the Kings

Valley of the queens

1-Nefertari Tomb:

The most renowned at the valley of the queens . it boasts vivid murals and inscriptions. The tomb has been recently opened to the public after restoration. Valley of the queens housed tombs of the nobles and deir al-madina.