Luxor is consisting of the City of Luxor on the East side of the Nile, the town of Karnak just north of Luxor and Thebes, which is on the west side of the Nile across from Luxor. The East Bank contains the Temple of Luxor built by Amenophis III. The dromos was built by Nectanebo I, and the Temple of Karnak. The West bank of Luxor consisting of The Valley of the Kings with tombs from the 18th and 19th Dynasties Also El Deir el-Bahri is a spectacular complex of temples. The famous Ramesseum, built by Ramesses II, the remains of Thutmose IV, Merneptah, Ay and Horemheb’s Temples, it finally comes to the huge complex known as Medinet Habu, the workmen’s village called Deir el-Medina. Out in the fields near here is the Colossi of Memnon, one of the major tourist attractions throughout time the Valley of the Queens, where queens of the 18th and 19th Dynasties were buried. |
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Karnak
The complex is a vast open-air museum and the largest ancient religious site in the world. It is probably the second most visited historical site in Egypt, second only to the Giza Pyramids near Cairo. It consists of four main parts (precincts), of which only the largest, the Precinct of Amun-Re, is open to the general public. The term Karnak is often understood as being the Precinct of Amun-Re only, as this is the only part most visitors normally see.
 The three other parts, the Precinct of Montu, the Precinct of Mut and the dismantled Temple of Amenhotep IV, are closed to the public. There also are a few smaller temples and sanctuaries located outside the enclosing walls of the four main parts, as well as several avenues of human and ram-headed sphinxes connecting the Precinct of Mut, the Precinct of Amun-Re, and Luxor Temple.  The temple of Karnak is famous for its 134 massive columns arranged in 16 rows in the Hypostyle Hall. 122 of these columns are 10 meters tall, and the other 12 are 21 meters tall with a diameter of over three meters. The architraves on top of these columns weigh an estimated 70 tons. These architraves may have been lifted to these heights using levers. This would be an extremely time-consuming process and would also require great balance to get to such great heights. A common alternative theory is that there were large ramps made of sand mud brick or stone and the stones were towed up the ramps. If they used stone for the ramps they would have been able to build the ramps with much less material. The top of the ramps would presumably have either wooden tracks or cobblestones to tow the megaliths on. There is a unfinished pillar in an out of the way location that indicated how they finished it. The finish carving was done after the drums were put in place. There is a double row of sphinxes leading to the temple of Luxor. There are several colossal statues including the figure of Panejem which is 10.5 meters tall. The sandstone for this temple, including all the columns, was transported from Gebel Silsila 100 miles south on the Nile river. It also has one of the largest obelisks weighing 328 tonnes and standing 29 meters tall. The key difference between Karnak and most of the other temples and sites in Egypt is the length of time over which it was developed and used.
 Construction work began in the 16th century BC. Approximately thirty pharaohs contributed to the buildings, enabling it to reach a size, complexity, and diversity not seen elsewhere. Few of the individual features of Karnak are unique, but the size and number of features are overwhelming. Construction of temples started in the Middle Kingdom and continued through to Ptolemaic times. |
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Valley of Kings
 The Egyptian belief that "To speak the name of the dead is to make him live again" is certainly carried out in the building of the tombs. The king's formal names and titles are inscribed in his tomb along with his images and statues. Beginning with the 18th Dynasty and ending with the 20th, the kings abandoned the Memphis area and built their tombs in Thebes. Also abandoned were the pyramid style tombs. Most of the tombs were cut into the limestone following a similar pattern: three corridors, an antechamber and a sunken sarcophagus chamber. These catacombs were harder to rob and were more easily concealed. Construction usually lasted six years, beginning with the new reign. The text in the tombs are from the Book of the Dead, the Book of the Gates and the Book of the Underworld. The Valley of the Kings actually has two components - the East Valley and the West Valley. It is the East Valley which most tourists visit and in which most of the tombs of the New Kingdom Pharaohs can be found. (The West Valley has only one remote tomb open to the public, that of Ay who was Tutankhamun's successor.) One of the dilemmas for the normal tourist is trying to decide which tombs to enter. The normal ticket permits three tombs and that will probably suffice for one visit. If you rush, you won't appreciate or remember the details of each tomb. The tomb of Tutankhamun requires a separate ticket.  Not all tombs are open and officials occasionally close particular tombs for restoration. The style of the tombs did undergo changes throughout the New Kingdom and one should try to see examples from the span of 500 years that the Valley was in use. The tomb of Tuthmose III is at the far end of the East Valley and is one of the earliest in the Valley. Its burial chamber is in the shape of a cartouche (oval-shaped) and its inscriptions are interspersed with stick figures. The climb up the modern metal staircase outside and then the descent into the tomb will give you a very good physical workout - but it's worth it! Horemheb's tomb shows a transition through to the Ramesside-style of tombs. Just a little further down the main path is the tomb of Ramesses III. While in a state of ruin deep within (the burial chamber is off limits), it is definitely worth a visit and one of the small side chambers contains the famous paintings of two blind harpists. Ramesses VI's tomb has a magnificent burial chamber in which lie the broken remains of the large stone sarcophagus. Along the length of the chamber's ceiling are two images of the sky goddess Nut which depict both the swallowing and rebirth of the sun disc |
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Memnon colossi
 Amenhotep III (18th Dynasty) built a mortuary temple in Thebes that was guarded by two gigantic statues on the outer gates. All that remains now are the 23 meter (75 ft) high, one thousand ton statues of Amenhotep III. Though damaged by nature and ancient tourists, the statues are still impressive. Ancient Egyptians called the southern of the two statues "Ruler of Rulers". Later travelers called them "Shammy and "Tammy", which may have been a corruption of the Arabic words for "left" and "right". Today they are known locally as "el-Colossat", or "es-Salamat". The statues are made from carved blocks of quartzite quarried either at Giza or Gebel es-Silsila. The Northern statue depicts Amenhotep III with his mother, Mutemwia, while the southern statue is of Amenhotep III with his wife, Tiy and one of his daughters. On the sides of the statues are reliefs depicting Nile gods joining together plants symbolizing Upper and Lower Egypt. Due to an earthquake in 27 BC, these statues became known for a bell like tone that usually occurred in the morning due to rising temperatures and humidity. Thus they were equated by the early Greek travelers with the figure of Memnon, the son of Aurora who's mother, Eos, was the goddess of dawn. To be granted a song meant that you were very much in favor of the gods. Visitors came from miles around to hear the music, including Emperor Hadrian, in 130 A.D. The Roman emperor Septimius Severus, seeking to repair the statues in 199 AD, inadvertently silenced them forever. |
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temple of Hatshepsut, also known as Deir el-Bahri.
 By the banks of the Nile, across the river from Thebes, a three-tiered temple was found beneath hundreds of tons of sand tens of centuries after its construction. The temple is a reflection of the mortuary temple of Mentuhotep II, and was constructed alongside that eleventh-dynasty structure. However, the temple of Hatshepsut is far larger than that of Mentuhotep. The architect was Senmut, Hatshepsut's lover and a member of her court with more than 20 titles. Senmut designed the temple with rows of colonnades that reflect the vertical patterns displayed by the cliff backdrop. In this way the temple is a successful example of architectural harmony between man and nature. The temple is dedicated to Amon and Hathor, Hatshepsut's claimed parents, although there are chapels dedicated to other gods, like Anubis, the god of embalming. The sanctuary lies within the mountainside.  Two ramps connect the three levels, and on either side of the lower incline were T-shaped papyrus pools. On the ground level were sphinxes and fragrant trees from Punt. The sphinxes had the heads of Hatshepsut, and she is also represented as a lion in some of the temple's reliefs. Although she has no specific enemies, she is represented clawing at adversaries and capturing "birds of evil" with a clapnet. Furthermore, the temple's walls document Hatshepsut's divine conception, her vote of confidence given by her father, her efforts to repair damage inflicted by the Hyksos invaders, the expeditions to Punt and the erection of the colossal obelisks at the temple of Karnak. Since the construction of the complex took about twenty years, the walls were like blank pages of a book, filled in as her reign progressed. By the time the temple was finished, Hatshepsut probably had little time to enjoy it as a pharaoh. Although Senmut originally planned to be buried at the temple, Hatshepsut's tomb was destined to lie elsewhere.  In the manner of her father, Tuthmose I, who realized a temple is too obvious a place to bury priceless artifacts, the tomb of Hatshepsut was constructed in secret. Ineni, the architect of the tomb and temple of Tuthmose I, prided himself that he was the only one who knew the tomb location of his master. The 100 "slaves" that built the tomb according to Otto Neubert, were killed after the project to protect the secret. Whether this brutal technique was used in Hatshepsut's case is not known, but it is rather moot. The biggest enemy Hatshepsut had were not grave-robbers, but her own nephew, who would have no problem finding her tomb, no matter how many slaves died. For Senmut's work, he was rewarded handsomely and was able to buy a temple for himself not far from Hatshepsut's, in which were buried his minstrel and family, and even his favorite pet apes and horses. His mother Hatnofer was buried nearby as well. Around his mother's neck was a scarab necklace, according to the prescription of the Book of the Dead. Although vandalized by Hatshepsut's foes and buried in sand for centuries, the Senmut's masterpiece loses no splendor. It is an incredible expression of the absolute power of a pharaoh, whether woman or man. |
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