Egypt, Ever a Wonder! (Part 5): Luxor, the Land that Once Saw Luxury

- April 1 and 2, 2026, Wednesday to Thursday.

- I'd be a fool if I didn't take time to see Luxor - even if I flew out of Cairo on April Fools' Day. Luxor, or Thebes as it was called in the past, was the capital of Upper Egypt. Although located in the south, the terms "Upper" and "Lower" Egypt were based on the flow of the Nile. The Nile flows from south to north, hence, the seemingly opposite use of Upper and Lower. The word "Luxor" has also been speculated to be the origin of the word "luxury", based on the royal treasures in the capital, but this is proven to be a mere coincidence.

- Our flight via Nile Air from Cairo took around an hour. From Luxor Airport, my dad and I took an Uber to our hotel, Hilton Luxor. (Ubers, I read, aren't always available. In case they're not, people may choose to use InDrive. However, booking an Uber car was never a problem for me in Luxor.) Speaking of hotels, my family and I don't often choose to stay in 5-star resorts. But in Egypt, anything below a 5-star hotel may not be as decent (compared to other countries where even budget hotels are amazing). Another thing was that hotels close to downtown were mostly fully-booked so I wasn't able to get one closer to where the crowd is; the Hilton was a few kilometers away from the downtown and it was almost fully booked too.   

- I wasn't sure if there would be flight delays (and how bad they would be in case), so I planned our first day in Luxor to be a more relaxed one. My dad could rest until the end of the day, while I went around the hotel and also check out the street bazaar downtown, called El Souk. El Souk feels a lot less overwhelming than Cairo's Khan El Khalili. By the way, since Luxor is in Southern Egypt, it was significantly warmer there than Cairo, which was cool and windy as it was the end of winter.

Here I am! This is the city's official logo by the way.

Our hotel faces the Nile. We have our own feluccas as well. (The felucca is Egypt's traditional boat.)

I told you it was hotter here.

El Souk.

Streets of the bazaar. At least it's partly covered, making shopping a bit more comfortable.

- The following day, we had a day tour around Luxor, exploring both the East and West Banks (from Klook); the East Bank is where the downtown area is and where most hotels are, while the West Bank is where the royal tombs are. Most of our sightseeing in southern Egypt was through a pre-booked day tour since the places were far and hard to access by oneself unless with a private car. We started by visiting the Karnak Temple, located within the downtown of Luxor. 

- Karnak Temple is one of the most important temples in Egyptian history. Built in the 20th century BCE, it was a complex of temples used for 3000 years. While many gods are worshipped in Karnak Temple, the most prominent would be Amun-Ra, the combination of Amun (king of gods), and Ra (falcon-headed sun god). 

Karnak!!!! (And the bright sun.)

Gates are lined with ram-headed sphinxes, which are symbols of Amun.

Osidie ("like Osiris") statues of Ramesses III.

I think this is Ramesses III on the temple walls.

Under one of the temple's many light sources.

Papyrus-motif columns.

These pillars are larger than life. They used to have a ceiling by the way.

Obelisks. Some of the obelisks are in France.

Gateway.

Khepri the scarab god, symbolizing the rising sun and reincarnation.

- Following a visit to the grand temple that was Karnak, was a trip to the West Bank of Luxor to visit the grand cemetery of the ancient Egyptian royalty, the Valley of the Kings. The Valley of the Kings if just part of the greater Theban Necropolis, which include other collections of tombs. The Valley of the Kings had been used since the 16th century BCE. These tombs gained more attention after the 1922 discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb; it was nearly intact when found and the only one found in this condition to date. However, the other tombs of the kings were bigger and more ornate than Tutankhamun's. I only got to explore 4 tombs out of the many, many ones in the valley. I doubt all are open to the public too.

Ramesses IV. One of the nicer tombs.

Just look at all the colors!

I'd spend more time inside if it weren't so hot and crowded inside.

This is what's left of the tomb. Most artefacts in the tombs have been sent to the museums.

Ramesses III.

This one has so many colorful pillars.

Please, no curses. (If you know, you know. Just search for the "pharaoh's curse", particular the one that seemed to affect Howard Carter and his team after discovering King Tut's tomb.) ---- Although actually, it was also said that the curse wasn't much of a curse. Rather, the infections were really just caused by the bacteria and all the chemicals locked up inside the graves.

King Tut.

What's left of the tomb since most of it has been transferred to the Old Egyptian Museum in Cairo, and more recently, to the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Giza.

His mummy.

Ramesses IX. This wasn't a super ornate grave, but still nice. 

With wall carvings.

The vallley.

- Behind the Valley of the Kings is Hateshepsut's mortuary temple. Built in the 15th century BCE, the temple was dedicated to Pharaoh Hatshepsut, who was a queen that declared herself king. Apart from it being a way to legitimize a pharaoh's rule by connecting with the divine, the temple was actually used to worship gods as well, such as Hathor and Anubis. I'd like to also note that Hatshepsut herself wasn't buried here, but in the Valley of the Kings.

Mortuary temple of Hatshepsut.

Shrine for Anubis.

Horus.

Carving of Hathor, the fertility goddess often portrayed as a cow (or a woman with cow ears.)

Depth.

Amun shrine.

Osiride statues of Hatshepsut.

Temple facade.

From the side.

- After lunch we had a quick photo stop at the Colossi of Memnon. Built in the 14th century BCE, it was supposed to be the largest mortuary temple in the area, although almost none of it is left. Only statues of Amenhotep III, to whom this temple is dedicated, are left. The name "Memnon", which is Greek in origin, was used to refer to the statues because the Greeks thought the statues represented the mythological hero Memnon. 

With what's left of the Temple of Amenhotep III.

- Finally, we went back to the downtown area at the East Bank to visit Luxor Temple. It was built in the 14th century BCE dedicated to the god Amun, his wife Mut, and their son Khonsu. The temple was expanded and repurposed through time, so the presence of other religions like Christianity and Islam can be found on the temple itself.

Entrance to Luxor temple. Another missing obelisk currently stands in France.

The avenue of sphinxes that connect Luxor Temple to Karnak Temple.

A closer view of the entrance, with a seated Ramesses II.

I think they're of Ramesses II as well.

Grand Colonnade.

If you look closely, you can see Roman wall paintings.

With the temple walls.

More columns.

I cannot get over how precise these wall carvings look.

With many statues of Ramesses II.

- That evening I was able to slightly pamper myself with a dinner at the hotel with a cultural program. I saw various dances, especially belly dancing (though not Egyptian style), as well as the most-awaited tanoura dance (men doing tricks with colorful skirts). The belly dancer even asked to dance with her!

Belly dance. (I was told she was doing a Lebanese style, rather than an Egyptian style dance.)

Tanoura.

With a tanoura dancer.

Oud player.

- My first two days in Luxor were fantastic introductions to the city and to ancient Egyptian history. However, tourists don't often go to Luxor and stay in Luxor. Often, Luxor is a good starting point for many day trips in southern Egypt - and that was exactly what we did, explore more of southern Egypt, or "Upper Egypt"!