Luxor Temple

Have you ever visited Luxor Temple ?

Built by the New Kingdom pharaohs Amenhotep III (1390–1352 BC) and Ramses II (1279–1213 BC), Luxor Temple is a beautiful monument in the middle of the modern town. Also known as the Southern Sanctuary it was the main temple during the Opet celebrations when the statues of Amun, Mut and Khonsu were brought from Karnak along the Avenue of Sphinxand reunited here during the flood and also there are another temples in luxor you can visit such as Karnak Temple which is a massive complex covering 2 sq km the size of 10 cathedrals and Temple of Seti I which is famous for his beautiful temple at abydos and Mut Temple Enclosure which is built by amenhotep III and Montu Temple Enclosure also in cairo and also there are another landmarks in luxor you can visit during your stay such as Valley of the Queens which is at the southern end of the theban hill side and New Gurna and Medinat Habu which is fronted by the sleepy village of kom lolah and backed by the theban moutain and Luxor Museum which has an amazing collection of antiquities from the end of old kingdom to the mamluk period

Go early when the temple opens before the crowds arrive or later at sunset when the stones glow. Whenever you go, make sure to come back at night when the temple is lit up, it’s an amazing sight as the shadows and light play on the reliefs and colonnades.

Amenhotep III enlarged an older shrine built by Hatshepsut and rededicated the temple as Amun’s southern ipet (harem) the private quarters of the god. *Tutankhamun, Ramses II, Alexander the Great and various Romans added to the structure. The Romans built a military fort around the temple which the Arabs later called Al Uqsur (The Fortifications) and this was later corrupted to give modern Luxor its name and also there are many landmarks in luxor sush as the tombs as there are alot of tombs in luxor you can visit such as Tomb of Seti I which knwon as the best tomb in the valley and Tomb of Tutankhamun KV (62) which is one of the smaalest in the valley and and Tomb of Horemheb ( KV 57) where it is famous for its bas relief and

In ancient times the temple would have been surrounded by a maze of mud-brick houses, shops and workshops which now lie under the modern town. After the city declined people moved into the partly covered temple complex and built their city within it. In the 14th century a mosque was built in one of the inner courts for the local sheikh Abu Al Haggag. Excavation works which began in 1885 have cleared away the village and centuries of debris to reveal what we can see of the temple today but the mosque remains and has been restored after a fire and there are also another tombs in luxor such as Tomb of Merenptah ( KV 8) which is the second largest valley of the kings and Tomb of Ramsis IV ( KV 2 ) which is near the entrance of valley of kings and Tomb of Ramses VI (KV9) which is the grandest tomb in the valley of kings and Tuthmosis III ( KV 34) which deeps in the hils Tomb of Tuthmosis IV ( KV 43) which one of the largest and deepest of the 18th dynasty and Tomb of Tawosret sethnakht (KV 14) which was the wife of of seti II

Not as complex as Karnak but as you go deeper in you go back in time. In front of the temple is the start of the Avenue of Sphinxes which went all the way to the temples of Karnak 3 km to the north and is almost entirely excavated.

The 24m high first pylon was built by Ramses II and decorated with reliefs of his military campaigns, including the Battle of Kadesh. The pylon was originally fronted by six colossal statues of Ramses II four seated and two standing, but only two of the seated and one of the standing remain. Of the original pair of pink granite obelisks that stood here, one remains and the other is in the Place de la Concorde in Paris. Beyond lies the Great Court of Ramses II, with a double row of columns with lotus-bud capitals, the walls of which are decorated with scenes of the pharaoh making offerings to the gods. On the south (back) wall is a procession of 17 sons of Ramses II with their names and titles. In the north west corner of the court is the earlier triple barque shrine built by Hatshepsut and usurped by her stepson Tuthmosis III for Amun, Mut and Khonsu. Over the south east side hangs the 14th century Mosque of Abu Al Haggag, dedicated to a local sheikh, entered from Sharia Maabad Al Karnak, outside the temple precinct and there are also another temples but in cairo such as Menkaure's Valley Temple and Menkaure's Funerary Temple which is outside the Pyramid of Menkaure and Khafre's Valley Temple which was consrtuction site for the Sphinx

Beyond the court is the older Colonnade of Amenhotep III the grand entrance to the Temple of Amun of the Opet. The walls behind the papyrus columns were decorated during the reign of the young pharaoh Tutankhamun and show the return to Theban orthodoxy after the heretic pharaoh Akhenaten. The Opet Festival is depicted in great detail with the pharaoh nobles and commoners in the procession. Look out for the drummers and acrobats doing backflips and there are another countries you can visit during your stay Egypt Tours provide you with many suggestions also you can travel with your family and spend quality time with them Egypt Family Tours give you many offers to choose from and also if you want to be in a private tour we can provide this for you through Egypt Private Tours give you also many offers to choose from and also we have safari tours if you want to try and book it you can do this through Egypt Safari Tours provide you numerous suggestions to choose from and also there are tours for women only you can book it also through Egypt Women Tours give you also many recommendations to choose from and also there are nile cruises you should visit during your stay such as Nile Cruise Luxor Aswan provide you numerous suggestions and Dahabiya Nile Cruise and Nile Cruise Aswan to Luxor give you many offers to choose form and Nile Cruise Holidays give you also many recommendations to choose from

South of the Colonnade is the Sun Court of Amenhotep III once surrounded on three sides by double rows of papyrus-bundle columns the best preserved of which are the ones on the east and west sides. In 1989 workmen found 26 statues here buried by priests in Roman times now in the Luxor Museum.

Beyond is the Hypostyle Hall the first room of the original Opet temple with four rows of eight columns each leading to the main rooms of the temple. The central chamber on the axis south of the Hypostyle Hall was the cult sanctuary of Amun, stuccoed over by the Romans in the 3rd century AD and painted with scenes of Roman officials: some of this is still intact and visible. Through this chamber either side of which are chapels of *Mut and Khonsu, is the four-columned antechamber where offerings were made to Amun. Behind this chamber are the chapels of Mut and Khonsu. Immediately behind the chamber is the Barque Shrine of Amun rebuilt by Alexander the Great with reliefs of him as an Egyptian pharaoh and also there are another many tours in another countries you can visit such as Egypt Tour Packages which provide you with many recommendations and there are also many landamarks to visit in egypt and so many activities to do Things To Do In Egypt provide you many suggestions and also if you will stay in egypt for a long time we have 10 Days Egypt Tour Packages and 15 Days Egypt Tours

To the east is a doorway to two rooms. The first is Amenhotep III’s birth room with scenes of his symbolic birth. You can see the moment of his conception when the god’s fingers touch the queens and ‘his dew filled her body according to the hieroglyphic caption. The Sanctuary of Amenhotep III is the last room it still has the base of the stone on which Amun statue stood and although it was once the holiest of holies the street that now runs behind it makes it less magical and also if you want to visit Red Sea you can book through Red Sea Tour Packages give you many offers to choose from and we also have money moon packages you can book it Egypt Honeymoon Packages give you also many offers to choose from and there are also Egypt Budget Tours you can book through