Luxor Holidays

Luxor and Egypt holidays have been synonymous since the beginning of tourism!  Ancient Greek visitors such as Homer named it the “City of a Hundred Gates”  while Napoleon’s troops are said to have gazed on its ruins and broken into spontaneous applause.  Luxor has often been called the world’s greatest open air museum because the number of well preserved ancient monuments throughout the city and its surroundings is unparalleled anywhere else in the world.  Luxor itself is really three different areas built on the ruins of the ancient city of Thebes.

The City of Luxor is on the east side of the Nile with Karnak just to the north and Thebes on the west bank of the Nile across from Luxor.  “Must see” monuments for any holiday in Egypt are the Temple of Luxor built by Amenophis III and the Temple of Karnak. Luxor is also within easy reach of the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens.   Many public buildings in Luxor, like the National Bank of Egypt and the railway station, are designed to appear as “pharaonic” as possible - a consequence of the “Egypt mania”  which swept Europe and the West in the 1920’s as a result of  Howard Carter’s discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamen in 1922.  

Luxor today is a city of 150,000 people and boasts many facilities and amenities for a range of international visitors looking for luxury holidays to Egypt as well as an insight into past glories. Most visitors come between October and February when the climate is cooler than you might imagine with chilly nights and early mornings. Around the end of March the temperature steadily increases making April - May the most pleasant times to visit although from the end of May until late October daytime temperatures can be very hot indeed.

Luxor Hotels

Those who visit Luxor hotels do so mainly to use them as a comfortable and convenient base to marvel at the many wonders of Pharaonic Egypt.  Any hotel in the world would be hard pressed to compete with the stunning attractions that are available on the doorstep of virtually every hotel in Luxor.  Some do offer more contemporary pursuits such as the Iberotel Luxor’s floating swimming pool located in the Nile or its unique Le Lotus Boat restaurant that can provide five-star elegance and an exquisite dinning experience while taking a trip along the River Nile. It is the proximity of Iberotel Luxor and so many other hotels to literally hundreds of stunning and well preserved ancient sites that provides the real attraction for any visitor to Luxor. In common with most of the better Luxor hotels, The Iberotel Luxor has an excellent location overlooking the Nile and is conveniently centrally located just ten minutes walking distance from the Temple of Luxor and about 30 minutes from the Temple of Karnak.  It’s also close to the West Bank Ferry crossing for visiting the Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens and Hatshepsut Temple.

Luxor: City of The Living and City of The Dead

Luxor was originally just part of the ancient city of Thebes and remained an important seat of power from 2,100 B.C. to 750 B.C.  It was Arab merchants and traders, impressed by its beautiful palaces and huge edifices, who coined the modern name Luxor - meaning “City of Palaces". The sheer concentration of relics in Luxor and the surrounding area is overwhelming. The town itself boasts the magnificent temple complexes at Luxor and Karnak.   Across the river are the amazing tombs and mortuary temples of the Theban Necropolis and as if this array of well preserved archaeology wasn’t enough, Luxor also serves as a base for trips to Esna, Edfu, Dendara and Abydos as well as the tombs of the Valley of The Kings and the Valley of The Queens.    Luxor’s East Bank is the City of the Living, housing the Temple complexes of Luxor and Karnak and the Museum. The part of Luxor on The West Bank of the Nile is the City of the Dead, where the Sun sets. 

Luxor’s East Bank

Major monuments on Luxor's East Nile Bank include the Temple of Luxor itself.  Built by the two pharaohs Amenhotep III and Ramses II, the temple was dedicated to Amun-Ra, whose marriage to Mut was celebrated with a sacred procession by boat from Karnak to Luxor every year.  The Temple entrance has a huge pylon built by Ramses II and two seated statues of the king. Originally, two large obelisks also stood in front of the pylon, but one was looted by Napoleon and now stands in the Place de Ia Concorde, in Paris.  The rest of the Temple was built by Amenhotep III and includes the Colonade, the Hypostyle Hall, the Sanctuary of the Sacred Boat and the Sanctuary of the Sacred Statue.  The Temple Complex at Karnak includes many individual temples dedicated to Amun, his wife Mut and their son Khonsu, the moon deity. The Karnak Temple complex also includes monuments contributed by Thutmosis I, Rameses III and Tuthmosis III. The Sacred Lake, used for purification, lies outside the main hall and dates back to Amenhotep I.   Many of the smaller relics and treasures found in these two temples can be seen at the Luxor Museum, situated between the Temples of Luxor and Karnak.
 
Luxor’s West Bank

The Colossi of Memnon are the only remains of a temple built for Amenhotep III. The ancient Greeks named the temple after Memnon, the legendary hero killed in the Trojan Wars.   Almost 20 metres high, these statues have cracks and fissures that “sing” with the winds. The Greeks said this was Memnon’s mother Eos, the dawn goddess, wailing at his loss and shedding tears that could be seen as dewdrops on the statues each morning.   The Tombs of the Valleys of the Kings and Queens are New Kingdom burial sites carved in the rock faces of the valley to safeguard them against tomb-raiders.  The chief tombs of the Valley are those of Queen Nefertari, wife of Ramses II, Tutankhamen (Tut-Ankh-Amun), Ramses III, Seti I, Ramses VI, Amenhotep II, Hur-Moheb and Tuthmosis III.

The Deir el-Bahari Temple was built by Queen Hatshepsut to practice what some considered to be witchcraft while The Ramesseum records Ramses II victories at the Battle of Kadesh. The Madinet Habu Temple commemorates Ramses III with well-preserved paintings of religious and military scenes. Dendera is a Graeco-Roman temple about 60 kms north of Luxor. The temple was originally built by Ptolemy III with additions by subsequent Roman Ptolemaic rulers. It houses a famous painting of Queen Cleopatra and Caesaron, her son fathered by Julius Caesar. The Temple of Esna is located south of Luxor and has a magnificent Hypostyle Hall with pictures and texts telling of the Roman emperors who came to Egypt and offered sacrifices to the Pharaonic gods and deities.

 

Shopping and Leisure in Luxor

Tourism is the mainstay of the economy of Luxor.  Estimates vary, but some claim that as much as 85% of Luxor’s livelihood depends on visitors and their hard cash.  So you should be prepared to enjoy (if that’s the right word!)  being invited to step inside every shop, rent every caleche, or have offers to shine your shoes made at virtually every street corner.   For some people, that’s the essence of Egypt holidays: the cheerfully persistent sales pitches, the theatre of bargaining, hunting for real gems and a genuine taste of the Souk.  Others can feel hassled at every turn and find the relentlessly aggressive selling unpleasant.  It depends on your approach and attitude.  Keep your cool and sense of humour and you’ll discover genuine warmth in Luxor and throughout Egypt.

There are only three main streets in Luxor:  Sharia al-Mahatta, Sharia al-Karnak and the Corniche next to the Nile.  Sharia al-Mahatta runs from the Nile to the gardens of Luxor Temple.  Sharia al-Karnak runs along the Nile from the Luxor Temple to the Temple of Karnak.  It’s also known as Sharia al-Markaz where it meets Sharia al-Mahatta and to the south around the temple it becomes Sharia al-Lokanda.  It’s here you’ll find colourful restaurants and cafes as well as bazaars with a good selection of Egyptian souvenirs.  If you tire of all these ancient wonders indulge in the facilities provided by Luxor hotels that include swimming pools and health clubs.  Further afield, there’s the Royal Valley Golf Club.  This 18-hole, Par 72 championship standard course  is open to tourist groups and is situated on the East Bank of Luxor about 13 Km from the city centre.

Luxor Nile Cruises

Luxor is the departure point and essential port of call for several Nile Cruises. No less than 17 luxury Travcotels vessels depart from or visit Luxor as part of an extensive Nile cruise itinerary.  The Travcotels Cruise Fleet is a self contained world of luxury with intelligent ship design and layout.  Planned itineraries and excursions can take you across the land from Luxor to Aswan and beyond the dam right to the doorstep of many of the world’s most impressive and mysterious monuments of the Pharaonic civilization.  You can tour the Valley of the Kings, the temples of Karnak, Luxor, Philae, Abu Simbel and Edfu knowing that in the evening you can return to your own floating Five-Star hotel.

The Nile is the life-giving force behind the unique civilization that sprang up along its banks. The Nile was, and still is, the vivifying heart of Egypt, and there is no better way to discover the mysteries and majesty of al Egypt has to offer than sailing the Nile in a well-appointed Four or Five Star Nile Cruise ship.  Cruises can take in sunny southern Aswan or Low Nubia with their African spirit and colourful markets or provide Five-Star comfort on Lake Nasser where you can view the extraordinary Abu Simbel temples built for Ramses II and his beautiful wife Nefertari.   With Nile cruises, you can take an inspiring trip into the fascinating past while enjoying luxurious comfort, safety and security on board one of the most modern and best equipped Nile Cruise fleets in Egypt.