Luxor

Luxor is situated on the river Nile, about 400 miles south of Cairo, in Upper Egypt. The important archaeological sites in this area date mostly from the Middle and New Kingdoms. We managed to get 3 days in Luxor, but I would recommend a little longer than that if you want to see everything it has to offer.

The Colossi of Memnon

The Colossi of Memnon are two enormous seated statues of Amenhotep III, which originally guarded the entrance of a Mortuary temple, but that has mostly disappeared over time. Each statue is over 60 feet (18m) high, and is carved out of sandstone which came from Edfu, 100 miles to the south.

We then moved on to one of the nearby village ruins, which lies at the foot of the mountains enclosing the Valley of the Kings. Although not of immense archaeological significance, it was interesting to see the layout of the complex and study what was perhaps the home of the builders of the nearby temples.

The Valley of the Kings

The Valley of the Kings is situated on the West bank of the Nile at Luxor, and is prhaps the most significant archaeological site of the Middle/New Kingdom in Egypt. The site includes the tombs of Ramases III, Amehotep II, Horemheb, Ramases IX, Seti I, Ramases VI, and Tutankhamon. I would advise visitors to get there early, because it does get very crowded, especially in peak season.

The Temple of Hatshepsut

The Temple of Hatshepsut is located at Deir El-Bahari on the West Bank of the Nile near Luxor, and is widely regarded as one of the finest temples in Egypt. Built by 18th Dynasty Queen Hatshepsut (1473-1458 BC), it is one of the first examples of integrating the temple design with the natural landscape, being built partly on and partly into the base of the mountain. Although we didn't have time to go inside the temple, it is stunning from the outside, and the advice to visitors, as is often the case in this part of Egypt, is to get there early before it gets uncomfortably hot.

The Temple of Luxor

The only 2 photos we have of the Temple of Luxor were both taken from a tour bus driving past the site, because we didn't get the time to make a proper visit. The Temple was built by the 18th Dynasty Pharaoh Amenhotep (1391-1353 BC),  and is very unusual in the way that its layout is actually skewed about its own axis, with part of the temple being oriented to a different direction. The noted scholar Rene Schwaller de Lubicz spent 15 years studying this temple, and discovered some intriguing evidence of the use of advanced mathematics and harmonic proportion incorporated within its design. Needless to say, this is one site that I would like to see a lot closer next time we get the chance.