A city lies in the south of Egypt, with the Nile passing through, dividing the city into two halves: east and west. Each bank has its magic and attraction. It was once the capital during the 18th Dynasty, and now it’s an open museum which is showing the great history of our ancestors, now called Luxor.
It has an exceptional location on the Nile, 500 kilometers to the south of Cairo, the current capital, with a unique location on the Nile banks to be its source of life.
The name itself has a history. The Egyptians called it Waset, which means the city of Scepter, and when the Greeks ruled Egypt, they called it Thebes, like a city in their homeland.
Then the Arabs came and took control over the country, and when they saw all these temples, they called it Luxor, which means Palaces or Castles, as these temples seemed to be like castles for them.
It’s one of the oldest cities in the world, precisely more than 3000 years ago, but the importance of the city started during the age of the new Kingdom.
It all had started while Egypt was under the reign of Hyksos, foreign invaders who had been ruling the north of Egypt for more than a hundred years—from where resistance had been aroused, led by Ahmos.
From the 18th Dynasty to the 20th Dynasty, it was the capital of Egypt, the religious center, and where the military was based; for instance, it was the beating heart of the country.
Monuments and temples are divided on the two banks of the Nile, the west and east banks.
Starting with the west bank:
Or Valley Of The Gates Of The Kings is a large cemetery of Kings and nobles dating back to the New Kingdom. It has some tombs of great Pharaohs; unfortunately, most of them were robbed a long time ago, but a few kept their treasure, and they are outstanding. Such as the famous tomb of King Tut Ankh Amen, which gave a celebrity to a kid King who had done nothing impressive during his lifetime.
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