Luxor

Luxor is a city located in Upper Egypt, in the province of Qena. It was the ancient city of Thebes - the capital of Ancient Egypt. The early Arab travelers, who admired Luxor for the numerous monuments and ruins scattered around the city, gave it its name. In Arabic Luxor means "the palaces".
Today’s city is among the most famous and popular tourist destinations in Egypt, one of those places you must see. So therefore, all the major travel agencies have main regional tourist offices there that also act as destination service offices.
The weather in Luxor is fairly hot all year round. Temperature can reach up to 40-50 C during the summer time

The city of Luxor has population of around 230 thousand
Listed below is a table of the temperatures in Luxor throughout the year.

 

Hotels:
The city is full of different classes of hotel, to fit many types of budget, from 2 star to 5 star deluxe. The Winter Palace is the most famous and expensive hotel in Luxor, located near the Luxor Temple and surrounded by a shopping area, with banks and the EgyptAir office nearby.


History of Luxor:
Luxor was the ancient city of Thebes, the great capital of Egypt during the New Kingdom, and the glorious city of the God Amon Ra. The city was regarded in the Ancient Egyptian texts as T-APT (meaning “the shrine”) and then, in a later period, the Greeks called it tea pie, which the Arabs later pronounced as Thebes. The importance of the city started as early as the 11th Dynasty by King Mento-hotep

The city of Thebes was the capital of the fourth Nome of Upper Egypt. The main local god was the God Amon Ra, who was worshipped with his wife, the Goddess Mutt, and their son, the God Khonsou, the God of the moon. Thebes was also known as “the city of the 100 gates”, sometimes being called the southern city, to distinguish it from Memphis, the early capital of the Old Kingdom.


Thebes also played a great role in expelling the invading forces of the Hykos from Upper Egypt. From the time of the 18th Dynasty, through to the 20th Dynasty, the importance of the city had risen as the major political, religious and military capital of Ancient Egypt. Such importance faded during the Late Period, but the God Amon Ra remained the main God until the Greco-Roman period.


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Sites to see while you are in Luxor:

There is a a vast number of monuments in Luxor located in both the east and west banks of the city, you will need at least 4 days to see them all properly

*Sites to visit in Luxor - East bank

Luxor Temple
Karnak Temple
The Museum of Luxor
The Mummification Museum
*Sites to visit in Luxor - West bank
The Colossi of Memnon
Valley of the Kings
Valley of the Queens
Valley of the Nobles
Hatshepsut Temple at Deir El-Bahri
Medinat Habu Temple of Ramses III
The Ramesseum
temple of Esna

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IF you have few extra days in luxor, you should try and visit the great sites in Qena, such as:

1- Temple of Dendera

2-Temple of Abydos

Please Note: All the buses that depart for these temples have to leave at a certain time of the day. A police convoy, which leaves at 8:00 AM everyday, accompanies them!


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If you wish to visit the Temple of Edfu, Temple of Kom Ombo, or Temple of Esna by road, you will have to go at certain times of the day, accompanied with a police convoy that leaves at the following times:

 

* If you are going to visit Hurghada by road, you will have to go at certain times of the day, accompanied with a police convoy that leaves at the following times: