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Can you imagine a whole city that is considered an open air museum? Well travel
to Luxor and you will know why. With its splendid temples and monuments, Luxor is
considered Egypt's greatest tourist attraction. Among Luxor's best attractions are:
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Luxor's East Bank:
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Luxor Temple: Situated in the middle of the town, the temple is considered
one of Egypt's most spectacular temples. Built by Amenhotep III and Ramses II, the
temple's purpose was to celebrate the rituals of the festival of Opet that celebrates
the reconciliation the human aspect of the ruler with the divine office. The temple's
entrance is from the north through the Avenue of Sphinxes. The rest of the Temple
is divided in this manner:
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The Pylons: in front of the great Pylon once lied two red granite obelisks,
but currently only one is present while its matching pair is
present at the Place de la Concorde in Paris. The obelisk is carved with names and titles that praise Ramses II. The frontage of the Pylon is
decorated with images of Ramses's victories, particularly from
the Battle of Kadesh. The main entrance is flanked with 2 seated statues of Ramses.
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The Court of Ramses II: This court is named after its builder who is Ramses
II. The court's interior is covered with different images and
is surrounded with papyrus bud capital columns.
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Abu el Haggag Mosque: When the Luxor Temple was excavated, the town that
was built on top of the Temple had to be demolished. However,
the people of Luxor refused that Abu el Haggag's Mosque gets
pulled down. For that reason, the mosque lies on top of the northeast area of the
Luxor Temple.
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The Court of Amenhotep III: This court is surrounded on 3 sides with 14 papyrus
capital columns. The court is covered with reliefs showing the
celebration of Opet. This court was originally roofed but nothing
remained of this.
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The Hypostyle Hall: The court of Amenhotep III guides you into the temple's
heart. A pre hall with 32 papyrus bundle columns all covered
with rich decorations that leads you into vestibule.
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Karnak Temple: Built over 2 millennia, it is the biggest temple complex in
the world. Almost 30 Pharaohs contributed to building the temple which is what gave
it its varying style, it still shares the same focal point which is the
Theban triad of Gods. The complex consists of the Temple of Amun, Temple of Khonsu,
Temple of Opet, and Temple of Ramses III.
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Avenue of Sphinxes: The Avenue connects the famous temples of Luxor and Karnak.
This Avenue of Sphinx is 2 km (1.2miles) long and is flanked with ram-headed sphinxes
on both sides. It is said that the avenue once extended over 3 km with about 2000
sphinx on both sides.
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Luxor Museum: The Luxor Museum displays a modest collection of well preserved
artifacts. The museum is spacious giving room for each artifact to be displayed
in a unique way. The artifacts are displayed accompanied by multilingual labeling
cards.
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Mummification Museum: The purpose of mummification is to preserve the body
of the deceased person or animal so that they could use it in the afterlife. The Mummification
Museum provides all the information you need on the process of mummification as
well as the religious customs associated with burials.
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Luxor's West Bank:
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Valley of the Kings: Surrounded by a mountain forming the shape of a pyramid,
the Valley of the Kings was the perfect place for ancient Egyptians to build their
tombs. The steep cliffs around the valley acted as a guard for the tombs. Tombs
built in the west bank are almost the same; they usually have 3 corridors, an entrance
room and the room where the king is buried. Among the main tombs discovered in the
valley are: Tutankhamun, Horemheb, AmenhotepII, Seti I, Ramesses III and Merneptah.
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Valley of the Queens: This is where the Queens and their children are buried.
Tombs are built on a smaller scale than the Valley of the Kings and with a simpler
layout. There are only 4 tombs open for the public and the most important one is
Queen Nefertari's tomb due to its completely painted walls.
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Temple of Hatshepsut: The design by which the temple is built is called Djeser
Djeseru or splendor of the splendors. The temple was built for Hatshepsut who is
considered the only women Pharaoh in Egypt by her lover Senmut who was a member
of her court. The temple is almost built inside the hills surrounding it and it
consists of 3 terraced levels connected by ramps.
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Colossi of Memnon: They are 2 giant statues cut from 2 massive granite blocks;
each statue is around 17m high. The legend behind their name came after an earthquake
in 27 B.C. that caused a collapse in the northern colossus. Since then, every day
at sunrise the statue produced a musical sound. It was believed that the sound was
from the God Memnon and this is where the statues gained their names.
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Ramesseum: The Ramesseum consists of 2 temples and a palace and is considered
the mortuary temple of Ramses II.
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Temple of Medinet Habu: Medinet Habu is a mortuary temple like most temples
built on Luxor's west bank. The temple was built for Ramses III and had a shape
of a fortress. Ramses III got inspired by the shape of the temple by the citadels
he had seen on his military campaigns in Asia.
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Tombs of the Nobles: Nobles holding high positions under the Pharaohs rule
were buried in the tombs of the nobles. On the wall of these tombs, you would find
different images than that drawn on the walls of the royalty tombs. You would find
images of every day lives and family affairs.
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Temple of Hathor: located in Dendara about 60km north of Luxor on the Nile's
west bank. This temple is well preserved with the walls and ceilings of the outer
and inner hypostyle halls, the sanctuary rooms, the tomb and the rooftop were carved
with highly detailed scenes, many of them remarkably untouched by the damages of
over 2,000 years.
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Temple of Seti I: was built to honor Osiris (God of life, death
and fertility) in Abydos. Abydos is located 145km North of Luxor and was considered
the cult center of Osiris. The temple.
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Banana Island: This lush island is situated 4km up the river Nile. It is
the perfect place where you can spend a relaxing afternoon and watch the sunset.
It is also a place where you can eat fresh fruits and enjoy a perfect break from
your comprehensive visit to Luxor's ancient monuments.
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