Valley of the Kings and Luxor (Karnak)

Eastern Nile (banks) - Luxor:

The Luxor temple is one of the most important temples in Ancient Egypt and stands in the center of former city of Thebes on the Nile. This great temple was dedicated to the triad of Thebes: Amon, Moet and Chonsoe. The temple is about 242 meters long and is one of the largest in Egypt.

The temple was erected by Amenhotep III who built the temple on former remnants of a temple built by Hatshepsut. The colonnade was further completed under Tutankhamun and Horemheb. Also under Ramses II and Nectanebo I the temple expanded. Alexander the Great converted the chapel for the holy boat and among the Roman emperors the temple was used for the imperial cult. The walls of the temples and of the wall are filled with reliefs depicting the rituals, including the Hepset ritual.

The Romans would also build a fortress around the temple that the Arabs would later call Al-Uqsur (this fort would later be transformed into the city of Luxor).

Karnak:

Karnak (fortified village) is 2.5 to 3 km north of the Luxor temple on the Nile. You could previously reach this via the "street of the sphinxes" (dromos) where you still can see parts of it. The Temples of Karnak are the largest religious structure in the world and contains columns, obelisks, temples and other structures.

The complex is the number two tourist attraction in the most visited place in Egypt, after the pyramids. Karnak differs from other temples because it has been built for so long in the name of pharaohs. It started in the Middle Kingdom, about 1600 BC. and 30 pharaohs participated in the whole project, which makes it seem like you are being transported through time on an artistic and architectural journey. Alexander the Great, the first Christians and the Ptolemeine have also added buildings and structures. 

The large temples can be divided into four main buildings, where there are still small shrines, many rows with sphinxes and a large holy lake. The walled temple complex of Amon-re is the most important part and contains, among other things, a hall of about 6000 m2 with almost 140 stone pillars. In addition, the complex houses a very large temple with 10 columns, a sacred lake and several smaller temples: Ptah, Chons and the Opet temple. There are also smaller historic buildings such as the state sanctuary of Ramses III, the Temple of Seti II, the Warehouse and an Eastern temple.

The highlight of the temple is perhaps the 29-meter-high obelisk, the highest in his sort of Egypt. This temple complex is smaller than that of Amon-re and dedicated to the mother goddess Moet. It also has a wall around it and a sacred lake. It houses the temple of Kamoetef and Chons. A smaller temple of Nectanebo II and one of Thutmose III and Hatshepsut. The complex is connected to the Amon complex via a dromos of sphinxes.

Eastern Nijloever - Valley of the Kings:

Located on the east side of the Nile not far from the old capital Thebes started with the collective cemetery of the pharaohs in the New Kingdom. The choice to accommodate the tombs of the pharaohs in this desolate place was born from the sheer need to protect the graves against grave robbers.

The graves themselves are easy to hide in this valley, although the idea to use this natural camouflage was not very effective in most cases. Some graves were plundered in antiquity and were uncovered for the public in the rest of history, such as that of Ramses IV (DK2), and also there a lot of graffiti was found.

The most famous tomb is that of pharaoh Tutankhamen, but 63 tombs have been unmasked in the entire valley, including private tombs for the nobility. The tombs of the valley, despite the fact that they were built in different times, are usually made according to a fixed pattern. First there was a shaft dug, which led to a treasure room where various objects such as jewelery, furniture and carriages stood, that the dead might need. After this, the sarcophagus was placed in a central space, in which the dead was buried. There are always 10 tombs open to the public. After a period of six years, these are closed, and 10 other tombs are opened. 

The valley consists of two parts, a western and an eastern half. The eastern half is the place where tourists can visit the tombs of the pharaohs from the New Kingdom, the western part is only accessible to scientists despite some single small tombs. There is a suspicion that there are still a number of graves that have not been discovered to date. South of the Valley of the Kings are the workers' village "Deir el-Medina" where the workers who built the royal tombs and the Valley of the Queens lived.

Deir el-Bahri

Deir el-Bahri (literally: Monastery of the Sea) is a complex of mortuary temples and tombs. A shaft of the 11th dynasty on the south side of the complex contained a repository for forty royal mummies. These were moved here by the priests of the 21st dynasty from the Valley of the Kings to prevent further desecration and plunder.

The mummies of Ahmose, Amenhotep I, Thutmosis I, Thutmosis II, Thutmose III, Ramses I, Seti I, Ramses II, and Ramses IX were used in the repository. In a separate room the mummies of leaders of the 21st dynasty, Pinedjum I, Pinedjum II and Siamun were found. The main structure of the complex is the temple of Hatsjepoet which functioned to continue the cult of the deceased queen. She herself would have commissioned this sample project that would take 15 years.

The Ramesseum:

The Ramesseum was the temple built by Ramesses II and served for the cult of Pharaoh and Amun. Construction began in the first regnal year of Ramses II and a lot was added during the period. The temple was soon destroyed by an early earthquake and parts were used for other temples.

Later, the temple served as a grave for the Theban priests in the Third Intermediate. Then he was again used as a quarry in the 19th dynasty. Coptic Christians then use the temple as a church. Perhaps the biggest attraction is the hypostyle hall with its beautiful colors. 

Other attractions:

• The Colossi of Memnon, Medinet Habu with the Temple of Ramses III and the Temple of Amon, Valley of the Queens and Deir el-Medina (excavation of a settlement of artists and workers who have worked on the tombs in the Valley of the Kings).

At the end of the Old Age the central authority collapsed and the empire collapsed in a number of local power blocks. In the chaos that arose, the tiny town of Thebes could even take over the title of capital from Heracleopolis. Under the leadership of Montuhotep II (2055 - 2004 BC), the city gradually grew in its role even when the country was reunited.

Montuhotep II started to build large buildings in the new capital such as the temple  Karnak and finally its own tomb on the Eastern Nile (Deir al-Bahri). While the 12th dynasty pharaohs moved the capital back to the north, Thebes remained the capital of the south (high Egypt) and continued its status as a ceremonial capital as opposed to the administrative capital in Memphis. During the second interbellum period between 1650 and 1550 BC. Thebes became the unified capital of Egypt and would serve as the base of the New Age.

For 500 years Thebes was the most important place of the Egyptian Empire and it was during this heyday that the most important buildings were built. Even though the pharaohs lived again in the north, they often came to see how the activities went in Thebes. The demise was started with small settlements that were built against the temples while later Christianity was taken over by Islam. When European travelers visited Egypt in the 18th century, Luxor (Thebes) was no more than a medium-sized village. It was only when tourism came on that the temples were excavated and prepped for mass tourism.