Luxor – World’s greatest open air museum

I ended my last post with the arrival in Luxor, the last destination on out Nile River Cruise. Luxor is a city in Upper Egypt and the capital of Luxor Governorate. The modern city includes the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of Waset, also known to the Greeks as Thebes. Luxor has frequently been characterized as the “world’s greatest open-air museum”. The ruins of the temple complexes at Karnak and Luxor stand within the modern city. Immediately opposite, across the River Nile, lie the monuments, temples and tombs of the west bank Necropolis. They include the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens.

Temple of Luxor

We arrived in Luxor in the evening, and since we were a bit tired from all the travelling, we only visited the Luxor Temple. It is situated in the middle of the modern downtown district. Built first by Amenophis III , it was known as “the southern harem of Amun” and was dedicated to Amun, his consort Mut, and their son the moon god Khons. During the Christian era, the temple underwent a transformation into a church, while in the Islamic period, the Mosque of Abu el-Haggag, dedicated to a revered holy man, was built inside the complex grounds.

Sunrise hot-air balloon ride over Luxor

The next day we woke up very early (around 4 in the morning) in order to catch the sunrise from a very exciting place. A hot air balloon. I have never ridden one before and it was on my bucket list for such a long time. Even though the thought of it scared me and we had to pay a significant additional fee for it (~60 euros), I felt ready. Balloon rides here take off just after sunrise. They float over the West Bank, viewing the area’s temples and tomb sites from high above. Flight time was around 45 minutes and I witnessed one of the most beautiful sunrises in my life. It was a unique experience I am definitely going to repeat in the future.

Valley of the Kings

The morning was still early after the ride ended, so we began our tour of the ancient ruins of Luxor. The most popular one is the Valley of the Kings, with it’s intricately detailed tombs and vibrant wall-paintings. It was the final resting place for the kings of the 18th, 19th, and 20th dynasties. It was believed that the dead, accompanied by the sun god sailed through the underworld at night in a boat. So, the walls of the tombs were adorned with texts and scenes depicting this voyage. They were also giving the dead instruction on its course.

Within the valley are 63 tombs, which are a roll-call of famous names of Egyptian history, including the boy-king Tutankhamun. We visited 3 of them and I have to say I was truly amazed by the impeccable preservation conditions.

Queen Hatshepsut’s Temple

Also called Temple of Deir el-Bahri, it is magnificently situated on the West Bank, at the foot of the sheer cliffs fringing the desert hills, the light-colored, almost white, sandstone of the temple standing out prominently against the golden yellow to light brown rocks behind. Inside, the complex is richly adorned with statues, reliefs, and inscriptions. Queen Hatshepsut was represented with the attributes of a male pharaoh to demonstrate that she possessed all the authority of a king.

Temple of Karnak

Of Luxor’s many monuments, the Temple Complex of Karnak is its most astonishing and beautiful feat. And I couldn’t agree more. The complex is not built to a single unified plan. Instead, it represents the building activity of many successive rulers, who added on and adorned this great national sanctuary. So it became the most important of Egypt’s temples during the New Kingdom. The monuments are built on a gigantic scale, reducing visitors to ant-like proportions as they gaze up at mighty columns and statuary.

The tour of the temples and ancient ruins of Luxor really felt like a trip back in time. You can’t find anything similar in any part of the world. They are a must see when travelling in Egypt. And the pyramids, of course, but I will take about them in a future post.