A trip down History to Luxor,Egypt

Luxor is the centre of the Egyptian cultural tourism industry. The age old ruins of the Theban temples are some of the largest and most well known ancient monuments and are the main draw of Al Uqsor, as it is known in Arabic. Visiting Luxor is a great chance to get a comprehensive look at the world of Ancient Egypt.

A good place to start is at the Luxor Museum with Luxor travel information guide . This museum, though small in comparison to the Museum of Antiquities in Cairo, prides itself on the limited collection it houses. The quality of the items on show is exquisite, and so is the way they have been displayed – uncluttered and with clear multilingual labels. Some of the showstoppers stocked at the Luxor Museum are articles from the tomb of Tutankhamen, 26 surprisingly well preserved New Kingdom statues and two royal mummies displayed without their wrappings – one of the pharaoh Ahmose I and the other of Rameses I. Another exhibit of significance is the reconstruction of one of the walls of Akhenaten’s temple – very detailed and absorbing.

The next stop should be at Luxor Temple. Easily one of the most significant ancient monuments in the city, the Luxor Temple is lit up spectacularly with colored floodlights at night. In its heyday, the temple was used as a dwelling for the pharaohs as well as a centre for religious celebrations. The temple complex is a chronicle of sorts, a capsule of the political and religious evolution of Egypt. From the time that it was built in 1400 BCE, up to when the last structure, a mosque in the 14 AD, was added to this complex, each successive ruler has contributed to it in their own way.

The Mummification Museum is also a great place to visit if you are looking at getting a comprehensive understanding of the mummification process. On display you will find a number of mummies, and some mummified animals as well. Quite the eye opener!

Across the Nile from Luxor, lies the Theban Necropolis. Scattered over a vast area, the Necropolis is best enjoyed in a series of visits with Egypt travel information guide. Though practically stripped bare of its treasures, the Necropolis still retains its funerary monuments. The more popular sites are the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens, but the Tombs of the Nobles are worth your while too. The complex also includes tombs and former dwellings of the craftsmen who built the royal tombs.

The Temple of Merneptah is mostly in ruins, and has only recently been restored. Since its restoration, this is one of the most popular sites in Luxor. Its museum is home to a number of archaeological treasures that were unearthed during excavations while the restoration work was going on. A lot of these have thrown new light on Egyptian history. Amongst the most spectacular discoveries are parts of the jackal headed sphinxes.

The Memorial Temple of Hatshepsut is one of the most dramatic sights in Luxor. Carved out of a hillside, the interiors of this temple are covered with intricate relief work. Though most of it has been defaced over the centuries, there is still enough to give the visitor a good idea of its former glory. Ancient Egyptians built memorial temples in the vicinity of the tombs for their rulers, as a commemoration of the reigns of their pharaohs.