Luxor Things to Do Tips by clairegeordio

This temple is situated in the centre of Luxor and was mainly built by Amenophis III, but the construction that we see now was mainly the work of Ramses II (1279-1213BC) and you can see many statues of him on the throne throughout the temple. Within the complex is a collonade consisting of 14 papyrus columns , each 19 metres tall. The walls are decorated with bas-reliefs showing the feast of Opet and date from the reign of Tutankhamun. (1333-1324BC).
Entrance fee : 35LE (3.50 GBP)

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These statues are found in the collonade of Amenophis III and are made of white limestone. They date back to the reign of Tutankhamun.

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Directions: Luxor Temple, in Apostyle hall

Karnak Temple is the largest religious centre in Egypt with over 2,000 years of history. It is complex with several temple compounds - the core of which is the temple of Amun - the king of the Gods. This is dedicated to the Gods Amun, Mut and Khonsu and has 134 high pillars built by Ramses II.
It is so impressive here with so much to see - I would advise around 3 hours - it would be rushed if you tried to see it in less than 1 hour.
As Karnak temple is quite a walk from the centre of Luxor (over 2km) and a further walk from some of the hotels situated out of town, it is best reached by taxi, which should cost 15-20 LE from the centre. (1.50-2 GBP).
Entrance fee : LE 40 (4 GBP).

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For me, the Hypostyle Hall was the most impressive part of Karnak and is considered to be one of the world's greatest architectural masterpieces. It is an immense structure of 5,300 square metres with 134 columns, some of which measure 22.5m in height.

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Look up to the tops of the columns where you can see impressive hieroglyphics which still have good colours preserved.

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As Ramses II had a lot of input into Karnak temple, there are many statues of him around the temple, usually with his wife, Nefertari at his side, always portrayed much smaller than him.
He was called Ramses the Great and lived to be 96 years old. He had 200 wives, 96 sons and 60 daughters

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A long avenue of sphinxes connected Luxor and Karnak Temple, about 3km away from each other. At the Luxor Temple end you can find sphinxes with human heads and lions bodies and at the Karnak Temple end you can find criosphinxes, which are sphinxes with lions bodies and ram’s heads. Archeologists think that this causeway consisted of 730 sphinxes, however, there are only 58 now. The processional route was used for the Feast of Opet.

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For around 500 years, some of Egypt’s most famous pharaohs were buried in tombs in the Valley of the Kings. There are 21 tombs in the Valley of the Kings of pharaohs who reigned during the 18th - 20th dynasties. Previous pharaohs had been buried in pyramids which proved too easy to rob. Theban pharaohs believed that their future life depended on keeping their mummies and goods intact, therefore, tombs were built into rock. Despite all security precautions, all the royal tombs except one were emptied of their goods during the centuries. It is still possible to see all of the beautiful hieroglyphics and paintings in the tombs illustrating the afterlife.
You can reach the Valley of the Kings, either by taxi, as we did, or by hiring your own bike or on a tour. Tickets can be purchased either at the ticket office near the Colossi of Memnon, not far from the ferry dock, or there is a ticket office close to the entrance to the Valley of the Kings.
Important: all prices for sights went up since beginning of November 2004, so many other VT pages prices will now be too low. It now costs 55 LE (5.50GBP) to see 3 tombs, excluding the tomb of Tutankhamun, which is purchased separately, just before entry to the Valley.

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Directions: West Bank, Luxor

We purchased a separate ticket to see the tomb of Tutankhamun, which now costs 70 LE (7 GBP).
The tomb was discovered on 4th November 1922 by the English archaeologist, Howard Carter. This was the only tomb at Thebes that had not been pillaged and still contained most of it’s treasures, which are now at the Egyptian museum in Cairo. Tutankhamun ascended the throne in 1333 BC, when he was only nine. During his ninth year of reign, he was assassinated. As it was an unexpected death, the chamber does not have much wall decoration, except in the burial chamber. Despite this, it is an amazing sight to see, and we were lucky enough to be there on our own, something I did not expect.
All cameras must be left with attendant at the top of the stairs to the tomb.

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In the second year of Ramses VI rule, his brother, Ramses V was buried here, and Ramses VI enlarged and decorated his brother’s tomb, where he was also buried six years later. This tomb is quite long, with a succession of corridors leading to the burial chamber. This tomb has one of most complex and sophisticated decorations of all of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings

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