Luxor
15 Hours
Over day trip
1000 persons
Luxor
A unique chance to visit and learn about the capital of ancient Egypt. Luxor is one of the favorite destinations of tourists interested in historical Egypt, being considered the largest open-air museum in the world. Luxor area of Upper Egypt is the ancient Thebes of the ancient Greeks - the capital of Egypt during the Middle and New Kingdom. Today it is a famous place for its temples and the nearby Valley of the Kings. Luxor is a city on the Nile with ca. 1.300,000 inhabitants. On the east bank of the Nile is the modern city and on the same side is the temple of Luxor and at the northern end of the city is the temple Karnak with the famous Hypostyle with 134 columns. The old capital, called in Arabic Al-Uqsur (Palaces), was divided in two by a canal: to the south was the famous Luxor, and to the north the important Karnak. Today, Thebes, completely destroyed by Ptolemy, is just a small town that attracts with its unparalleled ancient remains. Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization in Northeast Africa, which developed in the lowlands along the river. On the current surface of the modern state of Egypt, Egyptian civilization was formed around 3150 BC by the political unification of Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt under the rule of the first Pharaoh. Here is what you can visit in the fabulous and enigmatic Luxor:
1. Karnak Temple: It is the modern Egyptian name given to the complex of temples, chapels, pillars, statuary groups and other buildings, located in the area of Thebes (on the banks of the Nile), the former capital of ancient Egypt. The grandeur of the Karnak Monumental Ensemble has as its main purpose the emotional and spiritual impression of those who participate in the ceremonies dedicated to Amon-Ra (the supreme god of Theban priests in Egyptian mythology. Amon is the sun god, the most important of the gods and revered in the city). Thebes, where he is represented with a ram's head, or as a man wearing a feathered tiara.
2. The Valley of the Kings - in Arabic Biban El-Muluk. In the Valley of the Kings are the tombs of the pharaohs of the 18th, 19th and 20th dynasties, covering over 500 years of rule. Some of the most famous pharaohs of Egypt were buried in the fascinating tombs. Earlier pharaohs had been buried in pyramids, which proved to be easy to desecrate. The Theban pharaohs, who believed that their afterlife depended on keeping the mummies and tomb goods intact, demanded that they be buried in caves hidden in the hills. These graves were, in fact, dug into the rock.
3. Optional Entrance to Tutankhamun's Tomb - He was a pharaoh of the XVIII dynasty of Egypt (1332-1323 BC). He is known as King Tut. The 1922 discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb by Howard Carter went around the world creating a global frenzy for ancient Egypt. However, over the decades, many of Pharaoh's precious tombstones have disappeared into the cellars and archives of Egyptian museums. Today, all 5,398 objects have been reassembled, for the first time since their discovery, at the new Great Egyptian Museum. Many of them have never been seen before, but together they reveal new secrets about the short but eventful life of the so-called "boy king" (he died at the age of 19) and help researchers to realize the true scale of Tutankhamun's influence in the ancient world. Pharaoh Tutankhamun's incredible mortuary mask weighs 10 kg of pure gold.
4. Optional entrance to the tomb of Ramses VI. Ramses V. The tomb of Ramses VI, is one of the largest because Ramses VI usurped the tomb of his predecessor Ramses V. Many tombs in the Valley of the Kings tombs have been emptied by thieves or even other kings since antiquity.
RA team is waiting for you!