Luxor Temple of Thebes

We got to the temple by bus from our ship. But to get to the pier from our ship was an adventure: we were at least the sixth ship docked on other ships. To get to the pier, we traveled from the lobby door of one ship, through that ship’s lobby to its other door, and so on. However, the ships were not all lined up well: sometimes, we had to climb up on a step to reach a door; another place, where two of the ships’ lobby doors were not aligned, we had the choice of walking on either one of the ship’s outer sides to reach the next lobby door. But I had, very thankfully,  Burt to help me navigate these transfers from ship to ship. My count is that we had to do this five times from ship to pier and back again.

In ancient times, Luxor was known as the city of Thebes, founded in 1400 BC. The Luxor Temple of Thebes was built during the New Kingdom (1550–1070 BC), its inside mainly by Amenhotep III during the 18th Dynasty (1390–1352 BC) and its outside by Ramses II in the 19th Dynasty (1279–1213 BC). The temple was dedicated to the Thebian triad of Amum, Mut, and Khonsu (Amum was married to Mut––the female––and Khonsu was their child). The outside pylon (in the photo) was built by Ramses II and also two obelisks, with one remaining (see photo). The second obelisk is now in the Place de Concorde, Paris. It was a gift to the people of France from the Egyptian ruler Mohammed Ali.

The Obelisk in Paris

The obelisk from the Luxor Temple in the Place de Concorde in Paris.

Luxor Temple at Thebes

Inscription at the bottom of the obelisk at the Luxor Temple.

Luxor Temple at Thebes

Two seated colossi of Ramses II appear at the entrance.

Luxor Temple at Thebes

Close–up of the colossi of Ramses II.

Luxor Temple at Thebes

Statues at the bottom of the obelisk.

Luxor Temple at Thebes

Inscription at the bottom of one of Ramses II’ s statues.

Luxor Temple at Thebes

Statues of Amum  and his wife, Mut, who was the mother goddess of Thebes.

Luxor Temple at Thebes

The same statue with different lighting.

Luxor Temple at Thebes

On the other side of the gate.

Luxor Temple at Thebes

Statues of Ramses II––there were many statues of him at the temple.

Luxor Temple at Thebes

Closer–up of the statues on the left.

Luxor Temple at Thebes

And more closer–up.

Luxor Temple at Thebes

Closer–up of statues on the right.

Luxor Temple at Thebes

Another colossus of Ramses II.

Luxor Temple at Thebes

Closer–up of the statue.

Luxor Temple at Thebes

From the side.

Luxor Temple at Thebes

And another.

Luxor Temple at Thebes

Luxor Temple is not the biggest temple in Egypt or is it the best–preserved, but it spectacular lit up at night. The columns on the left make up  the Colonnade of Amenhotep III, and the ones are the right are of the Court of Amenhotep II.

Luxor Temple at Thebes

In the middle is the Colonnade of Amenhotep III.

Luxor Temple at Thebes

Closer–up view.

Luxor Temple at Thebes

Another view of the Colonnade of Amenhotep III.

Luxor Temple at Thebes

And another view.

Luxor Temple at Thebes

The tops of the papyrus pod columns.

Luxor Temple at Thebes

View of the city through the columns.

Luxor Temple at Thebes

Inside the Court of Amenhotep III.

Luxor Temple at Thebes

Inside the Court of Amenhotep III. The Colonnade of Amenhotep III can be seen in the middle back. I tried to get in front of the tourists so I could take a better photo, but the tourists kept coming and coming and I gave up.

Luxor Temple at Thebes

Inside the vestibule.

Luxor Temple at Thebes

Inside the vestibule.

Luxor Temple at Thebes

Photo showing the blocks used to build the temple.

Luxor Temple at Thebes

I was just about to take a photo when this man jumped into it, with a big smile on his face, and then he put out his hand for baksheesh. I smiled back and told him, “No way, you jumped into my photo.” He agreed with me.

Luxor Temple at Thebes

For being so nice (I did get a local color photo for free), I’ll give him a close–up.

Mosque of Abu-al-Haggag

When the Luxor Temple was rediscovered in 1881, a village had been built on the sand that was covering the temple. This mosque was built over the temple’s ruins, which you can see in the photo. The village was removed for the excavation, but not the 13th–century AD mosque.

Mosque of Abu-al-Haggag

Its minaret.

Mosque of Abu-al-Haggag

Lit up at night.

Mosque of Abu-al-Haggag

All lit up at night.

Luxor Temple at Thebes

Across from the front of the temple there is a long row of sphinxes on both sides of what is called the Avenue of Sphinxes. The avenue originally ran from the Luxor Temple all the way to the Karnak Temple, 1.2 miles away. This is the clearest photo I was able to take of the avenue. Each two lights represent one sphinx.

Luxor Temple at Thebes

One of the sphinx.

Luxor Temple at Thebes

Luxor Temple seen from the bus.

Coptic Christian Church

A Coptic Christian church seen from the bus.

A Night Tour of Luxor (See Movie)

We were driven around the city of Luxor. I have put part of our tour on a movie clip, which appears under Movies, Egypt in the menu. I am always surprised when I see so many people walking in a city at night as you don’t see this type of activity in Los Angeles except at night spots such as entertainment centers or some upscale shopping streets.

Back at the Pier

There were nice stores to investigate on the pier before we made the journey, boat by boat, back to our own boat. First, a number of us went to an internet cafe and e–mailed home. This was my first e–mail home, though I had sent some texts. (There was internet on the ship but it was quite expensive because it was a mobile connection. I didn’t think I would be able to get onto Earthlink on it, as I wasn’t able to in Cairo, so I didn’t try. Some people had trouble at the internet cafe reaching their e–mail servers; I didn’t this time.) Oh what a great feeling being connected back to the modern world! This store did not give us any hassle, just as its sign promised. I was able to buy some bottled water here–you never really have enough of it in this dry desert nation.

Back at the Pier

The store even had a welcoming Santa Claus on its door. I don’t think the store owner was concerned that it was now past Christmas.

Shipboard Entertainment (See Movie)

After dinner, we were treated to a show in the lounge. First, an Egyptian belly dancer. I put a movie clip of her dancing on this site under Movies, Egypt.

Shipboard Entertainment (See Movie)

Next, a whirling dervish. He whirled around for such a long time that I put his whirling on two movie clips––see Movies, Egypt. I considered this a great treat as I was hoping to see a whirling dervish on my trip to Egypt.