ITINERARY

• Constructed in the 14th century BC by Amenhotep III, the ninth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. The Ancient Egyptian temple complex of Luxor was founded in 1,400 BC and was expanded by 18th Dynasty Pharaohs Amenhotep III and Tutankhamun, and later by Ramesses the Great, and under the Roman Empire it was used as a fortress and government building. The Romans constructed a military fort around the temple that the Arabs later called Al Uqsur , which was later corrupted to give modern Luxor its name. The Temple was also known as the Southern Sanctuary, its main function was during the annual Opet celebrations, when the statues of Amun, Mut and Khonsu were brought from Karnak, along the Avenue of Sphinxes, and reunited here during the inundation. In the 14th century, a mosque was built in one of the interior courts for the local sheikh Abu Al Haggag. Excavation works, begun in 1885, have cleared away the village and debris of centuries to uncover what can be seen of the temple today.
• Sprawling over 2 square kilometres, the site known as the Karnak Temple was built in dedication to the god Amun and expanded by a succession of pharaohs, from those of the Middle Kingdom (1965-1920 BC) to the Ptolemaic dynasty (305 BC to 30 BC). The result is an incredible maze of temples, sanctuaries, sphinxes, columns and pylons amidst other ancient buildings and its name translates in Arabic as ‘fortified village’. One of the most important and impressive sites at the Karnak Temple complex is the Temple of Amun-Ra, with its world famous Great Hypostyle Hall. Debate still continues as to whether this looming structure with its 69 foot columns was created by Amenhotep III or Seti I, although it was completed by Ramses II.
• The Valley of the Kings was the burial site of almost all of the pharaohs of the 18th, 19th, and 20th dynasties (1539-1075 BCE), from Thutmose I to Ramses X. Located in the hills behind Dayr al-Baḥrī, there are 62 known tombs which are both geographically and ornamentally varied. Eighteenth Dynasty tombs include those of Amenhotep III (in the west valley), Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, and Thutmose IV. Some of the most famous figures of Ancient Egypt are buried at the Valley of the Kings, including the boy king Tutankhamun, Ramses the Great, Ramesses IV, and Tuthmosis III. Over time, most of the tombs at the site have been pillaged or, in the 21st century, systematically denuded of their contents as a means of protection. The only tomb which escaped this is the little tomb of Tutankhamun, which was protected by a pile of rock chippings thrown down from a later tomb.
• This extraordinary beautiful Hatshepsut temple is also known as Djeser-Djeseru that was built for the Eighteenth Dynasty “Pharaoh Queen Hatshepsut“. It is one of the incomparable temples of ancient Egypt that is considered to be the greatest ancient Egyptian achievements. It is dedicated to Hatshepsut and Amun. The Egyptian monarch had the duties to honor their gods and pharaohs and preserve their memory until eternity through the construction of tombs and temples. Queen Hatshepsut was always aware of the ways to elevate her public image and immortalize her name, the Mortuary temple achieved both ends. She was the daughter of a very powerful god in Egypt and that’s why she ruled as a man would. She ruled for about two decades.
• These impressive statues represent Amenhotep III himself, the ninth pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty (who reigned ca. 1391-1353 BC). In ancient times, they marked the entry point of the monarch’s funerary temple, which stretched for almost 1km in length, starting at the first pylon behind the colossi.