The busy, riverside city of Luxor, is one of Egypt’s major tourist destinations. Home to an estimated 350,000 residents the city welcomes thousands of travellers to see some of the world’s most famous attractions. From the river it appears the city is dominated by the magnificent Temple of Luxor, but once ashore the city comes alive with busy streets full of cafes, colourful open shops, food stalls and horse-drawn taxis offering their services. Comprised of three main streets the city further extends its hospitality by providing all the amenities that tourists usually expect of a city, namely a variety of hotels, bars, nightclubs and restaurants.
Standing at the centre of ancient Thebes, that was once the capital of Egypt, Luxor provides an excellent location from which to explore this historical area of Egypt. The city is known worldwide as home to the large ruins of the South Harem of Amun, usually called the Temple of Luxor, which was founded in 1400 B.C. and completed by the Pharaoh Rameses II. The temple is entered by passing two colossal statues of Rameses II and an impressive obelisk which was once crowned in gold, and contains an overwhelming number of huge stone pillars that together add to the appeal of the daytime exploration and the night time Sound and Light Show. The Temple of Luxor is considered to be the southern sanctuary of the Temples of Karnak complex to which it was originally connect by the almost 3 kilometre long ‘Avenue of Sphinxes’. Also for visitors the city provides the Luxor Museum which although only small, houses one of the best displays of antiquities in Egypt, and the Mummification Museum which covers every aspect of the mummification process.
Surrounding the modern city of Luxor are the ancient ruins of Thebes, its temples and necropolises which are today listed as a U.N.E.S.C.O. World Heritage Site. Within this area are located the Temples of Karnak and the Temple of Luxor which are both found on the eastern banks of the River Nile, with the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens, the Colossi of Memnon, the Temple of Hatshepsut and the surrounding mortuary temples being located on the western banks of the River Nile.
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