Egypt: A Trip Over Luxor by Balloon and
a Tour of the Archaeological Sites
Luxor (Thebes)
• Luxor was the ancient city of Thebes, the great
capital of Egypt during the New Kingdom, and
the glorious city of the God Amon-Ra. Luxor
has frequently been characterized as the
"world's greatest open air museum", the ruins
of the temple complexes at Karnak and Luxor
standing within the modern city. Immediately
opposite, across the Nile River, lie the
monuments, temples and tombs on the West
Bank Necropolis, which include the Valley of
the Kings and Valley of the Queens.
Fertile, Irrigated Fields of the Nile Valley
Temple Ruins
The Modern City
Luxor Ruins
West Bank Archaeological Sites
Farewell
AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL TOUR
Luxor was the ancient city of Thebes, the great
capital of Egypt during the New Kingdom, and
the glorious city of the God Amon-Ra.
The Colossi of Memnon are two massive stone
statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III.
For the past 3400 years they have stood in the
Theban necropolis, across the River Nile from
the modern city of Luxor.
The Valley of the Kings where, for a period of
nearly 500 years from the 16th to 11th century
BC, tombs were constructed for the kings and
powerful nobles of the New Kingdom.
The temple of Hatshepsut (female
Pharaoh).
Hatshepsut began construction of a tomb when
she was the Great Royal Wife of Thutmose II.
This was the first grand tomb complex to be
constructed in the Valley of the Kings.
She is generally
regarded as one of
the most successful
pharaohs,
reigning longer
than any other
woman of an
indigenous
Egyptian dynasty.
The Karnak temple complex
The Karnak temple complex is a vast
conglomeration of ruined temples, chapels,
pylons and other buildings.
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 the other 12 are 21 meters tall
with a diameter of over three meters.
Few of the
individual
features of
Karnak are
unique, but the
size and
number of
features are
overwhelming.
The Luxor Temple (to the left in the
background) was founded in 1400 BC.
Known in the Egyptian language as ipet resyt, or
"the southern harem", the temple was
dedicated to the Theban Triad of Amun, Mut,
and Chons and was built during the New
Kingdom
Then, as now, everything was/is “the
Gift of the Nile”!