Luxor

For the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, see Luxor Hotel.

The River Nile at Luxor

Pharaonic statue in Luxor Temple

Hot-air ballooning in Luxor

Luxor (Arabic: الأقصر ) is a city in Upper (southern) Egypt and the capital of the Al Uqsur governorate, population approximately 200,000. As the site of the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes, Luxor has frequently been characterised as the "world's greatest open air museum", the ruins of the temple complexes at Karnak and Luxor standing within the modern city. Immediately opposite, across the Nile River, lie the monuments, temples and tombs on the West Bank Necropolis, which include the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens. Thousands of international tourists arrive each year to visit these monuments, their presence forming a large part of the economic basis for the modern city. As a result, Luxor represents an excellent base for touring Upper Egypt, and is a popular holiday destination, both in its own right and as a starting or finishing point for Nile cruises.

History

For the ancient settlement of Luxor, see Thebes, Egypt

Economy

The economy of Luxor, like that of many other Egyptian cities, is heavily dependent upon Tourism. Large numbers of people also work in agriculture

Infrastructure

Transportation

Luxor is served by an international airport, Luxor International Airport.

A bridge was recently constructed a few miles upstream of the main town of Luxor, allowing ready land access from the East Bank to the West Bank.

Traditionally, however, river crossings have been the domain of several ferry services. The so-called 'local ferry' continues to operate from a landing opposite the Temple of Luxor. Alternatively, feluccas line the East Bank of the Nile all day, providing a cheap and leisurely sail to the other side.

For domestic travel along the route of the Nile, a rail service operates twice a day. A morning train and sleeping train can be taken from the station situated around 1 mile from Luxor Temple. The line runs between several major destinations, including Cairo to the north and Aswan to the south.

Sights of modern-day Luxor

* East Bank
** Luxor Temple
** Luxor International Airport
** Karnak Temple
** Luxor Museum
** Mummification Museum
** Winter Palace Hotel

Street market in Luxor

*West Bank
**Valley of the Kings
**Valley of the Queens
**Medinet Habu (memorial temple of Ramesses III)
**The Ramesseum (memorial temple of Ramesses II)
**Deir al-Madinah (workers' village)
**Tombs of the Nobles
**Deir el-Bahri (temple of Hatshepsut, etc.)
**Malkata (palace of Amenophis III)
**Colossi of Memnon (memorial temple of Amenophis III)

See also

*17 November 1997 Luxor massacre

External links

*The Luxor Area
*Theban Mapping Project: website devoted to the Valley of the Kings and other sites in the Theban Necropolis
* Luxor Travel Photo Luxor Pictures published under Creative Commons License