TEMPLE OF LUXOR

HISTORY

The Temple of Luxor is located on the east bank of the Nile River in modern day Luxor. In ancient times, the city was called Thebes and it was the thriving capital during much of Ancient Egypt’s New Kingdom. Construction on the temple was initiated in the 18th dynasty by the Pharaoh Amenhotep III with work continued by King Tutankhamun and Horemheb. The Pharaoh Ramesses II expanded the temple during his reign in the 19th dynasty and in the Ptolemaic period, a shine was built and dedicated to Alexander the Great. 

This temple is unique in that it is still “operating” through the Mosque of Abu Haggag. After the Ptolemaic period, during the Christian area, the temple’s hypostyle hall was converted to a church. Then, with the passage of time, the Temple of Luxor was buried under the Saharan sand resulting in a mosque being built over the structure. Today, the mosque is still attached to the temple with the east wall and doorway visible from the temple’s Courtyard of Ramesses II.  

FAST FACTS

At the entrance of the temple, in front of the first pylon, once stood two 80 ft pink granite obelisk built by Ramesses II. Today, only one remains since the other was taken by the French and now stands at the Place de la Concorde in Paris. 

The pylon at the entrance measures 24 meters high by 65 meters wide and serves as a storyboard showing Ramesses at the Battle of Kadesh - the west tower depicts the pharaoh with his advisers and generals while the east tower shows him driving his chariot over the enemies. 

Upon passing the pylon, one enters the Court of Ramesses II which measures 188 ft long and 168 ft wide. The courtyard is outlined by 74 papyrus styled columns with capitals resembling flower buds. In the southern section there are several standing colossi of Ramesses II while in the northwest corner of the courtyard there is a shrine to Thutmose III. 

The Court of Ramesses II is connected to the rest of the temple via a colonnade that consists of 7 pairs of columns measuring 52 ft in height. Those columns have capitals designed as open flower papyrus. Amenhotep III started work on the colonnade with construction completed by Tutankhamun. 

The second courtyard at the Temple of Luxor is the Court of Amenhotep III. This courtyard measures 148 ft long by 184 ft wide and consists of double rows of papyrus styled columns. The northern section of the Court of Amenhotep III was the original entrance to the temple. 

The Court of Amenhotep III leads to the hypostyle which has 32 columns and is adjacent to four small rooms plus an antechamber leading to the birth room, the chapel of Alexander the Great, and the sanctuary.

The Temple of Luxor has a statue of King Tutankhamun and Queen Ankhesenamun, who was also Tut's half-sister. This statue is beautiful in that it is one of the very few statues depicting the boy king. 

VISITING TEMPLE OF LUXOR 

The Temple of Luxor is a standard item on most tour itineraries and on the to-do list for many independent travelers. A trip to this temple is usually paired with a visit to the Karnak temple complex located just a few short blocks to the north. In ancient times, these two sites were connected by an ‘Avenue of Sphinxes’; a road approximately 1.5 miles long flanked by sphinxes on both sides. Today, archeologists are recovering and restoring large portions of this avenue.

Unlike the Karnak temple complex, the Temple of Luxor is a lot smaller and tends to generate fewer crowds. When I visited the Temple of Luxor in 2010, my tour group went at 8:00PM and we were the only ones at the site. While it was great being the only group at the temple, a night visit was not nice in that it was difficult to see the details and colors on the columns and walls. My 2018 trip to the temple was during the day which afforded the opportunity to really enjoy the details and many colors. Also, despite it being day time, the crowds were almost nonexistent.

NOTE While the Temple of Luxor is a standard item on most itineraries, not all companies include the admission to this site in the tour price. Contiki used to include both the Temple of Luxor and Karnak in the tour price but now both sites are considered ‘optional’ and an extra expense. As for traveling with Trafalgar, they include in the tour price the admission to the Temple of Luxor. 

NOTE I found this to be the most accessible temple; the ground was relatively even and there were no stairs. Also, since the temple is not that large, there is not a substantial amount of walking.