Luxor, Egypt. information about the ancient city of Thebes
Luxor is the famous city in Egypt that has a
quarter of the world monuments. The city lies in upper Egypt at a distance
of 670 km south of Cairo. It consists of 3 parts, Thebes the ancient
city on the west bank of the Nile, Karnak to the north of the current
city and Luxor the main city itself with a population of around 400,000
people most of them working in the tourism industry or managing coffee shops and bazaars.
The city of Luxor has a special status, under the supervision of
the Egyptian supreme counsel of monuments in 1989.
Luxor name is derived from the Arabic word "Al Aksor or Al Oksor"
which means "Palaces" and was named by the Arabs when the conquered the
Romans who occupied Egypt and found an enormous number of luxurious
buildings which inspired them to name it that way.
 Luxor is considered an open museum with around 800
monument sites
attracting more than eight million tourists a year. Among the most
visited sites in Luxor is the temple of Karnak, Luxor temple, the Kings
valley and the queens valley. One of the most famous temples in Egypt is
the "El Deir El Bahary" built by queen Hatshepsut. It lies at the west
coast of the Nile river.
Thebes was the ancient capital of Egypt during part of the 11th
Dynasty (Middle Kingdom) and most of the 18th Dynasty (New Kingdom)
Luxor has an international airport serving both domestic trips and
international trips carrying millions of tourists coming to visit the
city throughout the year. Although the bets time to visit the city is
the winter months, many people come in all seasons to enjoy the city
even in summer which quite hot with temperature reaching 40º
C in June and July. Nile cruise is
a preferred way to visit the city in that you can enjoy the Nile, visit
the ancient sites and travelling from Luxor to Aswan as did Ancient
Egyptians in ships through the Nile.
The Temple of Luxor
It is a temple complex located on the
east bank of the Nile river in Thebes built in 1400 BC. The temple was
dedicated to the Theban Triad of Amun, Mut, and Chons and was built
during the New Kingdom. Entrance of the temple is to its north through a
path with sphinxes statues lined on both sides.
The temple was called "Ipet resyt," which means the Southern Opet or
the Place of the Seclusion of Amun-Re. It was directly connected to the
temple of Karnak, the main cult center of Amun-Re or Amun-Min, the sky
god or the ithyphallic fertility god.
Amenhotep III built Luxor Temple which run close to the river Nile from
north to south. It was constructed on the site of a small Temple of Amun,
built by kings of the 12th dynasty. At the time of Amenhotep III the
temple was only 190m in length and 55m in width.
Ramses II, with the help of his architect Pak-in Khonso, added the
front part and completed the temple. He also added the present large
forecourt, and a Pylon at the (northern) front of the Temple. Kings
Merenpetah, Seti I, Ramses III, Ramses IV and Ramses VI built many more
small additions. Alexander the Great rebuilt the Sanctuary. During the
Christian era, the inner section was converted to a church. A Mosque was
built in the 10th century, which is known as the Mosque of Abou El-Hagag.
Wifi Internet access project in Luxor
 For
the technology enthusiasts and frequent travelers, the city of Luxor has
established WiFi hotspots in key areas to allow access to the Internet.
The wireless coverage spans a 7 Kilometers distance by the river
side, where there’s a high concentration of hotels, Nile cruise ships,
and cafés in addition to and Al-Karnak temples and the main train
station.
To take advantage of the wireless Internet service you can buy
scratch cards that are sold to tourists in the places close to Wi-Fi
covered areas. You can see the WiFi hotspots in the displayed map of
Luxor
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