Luxor | aaarticle.com

Luxor stands on the site of ancient Thebes and is often called the world's greatest open-air museum. On the Nile's two banks it holds the temples of Karnak and Luxor and the royal tombs of the Valley of the Kings.

Overview

Once the capital of the pharaohs at the height of their power, Luxor gathers a density of monuments matched almost nowhere else. The east bank, the land of the living, carries the great temple complexes and the modern town; the west bank, the land of the dead, holds the royal necropolis in the desert hills across the river. The climate is hot and dry, mild in winter, which is the season most travellers choose.

Highlights

Karnak is the vast temple of Amun built and enlarged over centuries, and Luxor Temple anchors the town beside the river. Across the Nile the Valley of the Kings hides the painted tombs of Tutankhamun and other rulers, near the terraced temple of Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon. Dawn balloon flights over the west bank and the river itself complete the visit.