A HOLIDAY IN LUXOR, EGYPT

Luxor is one of the greenest capitals of the ancient world of Egypt, it is a green strip in the middle of the dessert. It sits on the bank of the Nile which is lined with modern hotels, the feluccas sail along the quiet waters and the small silent streets come alive in the evenings with the colourful Bazaars. Across the river in the background, lies the famous Valley of the Kings. Luxor is the perfect place for a relaxing cultural holiday or part of a Nile cruise.

 
Luxor is the ancient city of Thebes which was capital of the Egyptian empire for almost one thousand years. On the east bank are the temples in which the gods dwelt and the buildings on the west bank were constructed for the worship of the dead sovereigns.

The temple of Amon-Ra (King of the Gods) is all that remains of Luxor's glorious past and was brought back to life in 1883 by Gaston Maspero. This temple of  Luxor was joined to that of Karnak by a long stone-paved dromos, a drome and a processional avenue of sphinxes with rams heads that the XXX Dynasty replaced with sphinxes with human heads.
 
  The recently built Luxor museum displays countless interesting finds relating to the history of ancient Thebes. A most interesting piece of history is Talatat's wall, a re-composition of an 18 metre wall from the temple of Akhen-Akon in Karnak and destroyed by its successors. The wall, 283 blocks forming it, shows hundreds of small scenes showing work in the fields and craftsmen at work and the Pharaoh and Queen Nefertiti worshipping the Sun. Other interesting artifacs are the Head of Hathor in the form of a gilt wood cow from the tomb of Tutankamun, a large sandstone head of Akhen-Ahon and a stone statue of Thot-Mosis I holding the ankh in his hands.

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The monumental Temple of Karnak stands three kilometres from the Temple of Luxor. The temple comprises three complexes and in the centre of each enclosure stands the main temple dedicated to the god and alongside is the sacred lake for ceremonies, usually in a quadrangular shape. The complex of Amon, is the largest temple with columns in the world and according to historians it could contain Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris in its entirety or cover half of the Manhattan area.

Nefertiti's tomb was discovered in 1904 by the Italian Ernesto Schiaparelli . Nefertiti was the best loved of Ramses II's wives and it was in her honour that the beautiful temple of Abu Simbel was built. When the tomb was discovered, it was found to be missing all the objects she had been buried with but the magnificent paintings proved, that it was indeed, one of the most important and beautiful tombs of the Valley of the Queens.

The most famous tomb in the Valley of the Kings is the tomb of Tutankhamen. On 4th November 1922 Englishman, Howard Carter, financed by Lord Carnarvon, had one of the most exciting finds of modern archaeology. The tomb of Tutankhamen was full of the precious objects that had been buried with him when he died aged nineteen about 1350 B.C. and the sarcophagus containing his mortal remains. This tomb and lots of others can be visited in the Valley of the |Kings.

The Colossi of Memnon are all that remains of the burial temple of Amuon-Ofic III. They are two statues which are thought to have stood to the side of the entrance to the temple. They are 20 metres high and their feet alone measure 2metres by 1 metre.

A holiday in Luxor will be one you will never forget.

 
 
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