According to A2ZGOV, Luxor is a real gem of Egypt. A small town on the right bank of the Nile, located 500 km south of Cairo, was once the famous capital of ancient Egypt. This is the world center of archeology, and there is no other city in the world where such a huge number of ancient monuments would be concentrated. The honorary status of the “pearl” is confirmed daily – by countless tourist buses arriving here from all the famous resorts of the country and cruise ships plying the Nile. Alas, where there are many tourists, there are many who consider it their duty to profit at their expense. Be prepared for this and do not hope that the helping hand offered to you when leaving the boat will not turn into the hand of the one asking in the very near future. However, if you do not pay attention to such trifles as importunate merchants or beggars, then Luxor will certainly impress you – after all, the beauty of this ancient city was admired even a thousand years before our era. Just don’t forget long-sleeved clothing, a hat, and a bottle of water when going on a tour. The sun is merciless here, and there is almost nowhere to hide.
How to get there
Luxor can be reached by bus from Hurghada, Makadi, Safaga or El Gouna. Travel time is 4-5 hours. From Sharm el-Sheikh, you can only get here by plane. EgyptAir (Corniche el-Nil; 8:00-20:00) operates regular flights from Luxor to Cairo (1 hour and 5 minutes on the way) and Aswan (40 minutes).
By bus from Cairo (11 hours on the way, 2 departures per day), Hurghada (5 hours), Dahab (16 hours), Sharm el-Sheikh (15 hours), Port Said. But this is not the most comfortable mode of transport that runs to Luxor. It is better to travel from Cairo by night train, breakfast is included in the ticket price. It is also worth using the train if you want to get to Luxor from Ausan (three times a day, 3 hours on the way, stops in Edfu, Kom Ombo). The railway station (Midan al-Mahatta) is located almost in the center of the city.
During the season (October to May), a whole armada of cruise ships arrive in Luxor, which ply the Nile between Aswan, Kom Ombo, Cairo and so on.
Transportation
The airport can be reached by taxi and is only 7 km east of the city. There are no public buses from the city center to the airport.
Minibuses to the Sharia al-Karnak Bus Station depart from the Horus Hotel near the Luxor Temple.
For a walk around the city, you can hire a charming transport – a cart of calèche horses, hard bargaining is necessary.
From one side of the river to the other you can get on regular flights of baladi ferries. The stop on the East Bank is in front of the Luxor Temple, on the West Bank – at a dusty parking lot.
Another form of transport in the city – a bicycle – is suitable only for the most hardy (heat and dust affect).
Shopping and markets
There are two pretty markets in Luxor, each one is worth a visit, as they are completely different from each other. One is an air-conditioned mall with two lines full of shops. Here you can “shop” for those who prefer comfort and coolness to bright oriental bargaining.
The second – the oldest in the city – is located on several streets at once near the Luxor Temple. Almost all of them are pedestrian, so walking, “shooting with your eyes” and keeping an eye on your wallet here is a real pleasure. Only wooden ceilings save from the sun, bargaining from crooks and overpricing. Traditional tea, a comfortable chair and a long conversation on the topic “well, how can I lower the price for you, I give it almost for nothing” is always available. They say that real prices begin to “crawl out” to the surface no earlier than 5-10 minutes of exhortations, threats to leave, sneaks at low prices from a neighbor, and similar tricks. However, it’s worth it: what originally cost 120 EGP can easily turn into 70 EGP.
Entertainment and attractions of Luxor
Since the city is located on the banks of the Nile, its sights can be easily divided into the right bank – this is the “City of the Living”, and the left – the “City of the Dead”.
The world-famous Luxor and Karnak temples are located in the “City of the Living”, once united by an alley of sphinxes into a single ensemble. The most impressive place in the Karnak temple is the Pharaoh Seti I’s columned hall. These are 134 columns 16 m high each, painted from top to bottom with colored bas-reliefs. On the south side, a small lake adjoins the temple, on the shore of which there is a huge granite scarab beetle, which was considered sacred in Egypt.
The Luxor Temple was built in the 13th century. BC under one of the most powerful and famous pharaohs – Ramses II. The temple stretches for a quarter of a kilometer along the Nile. Once upon a time, six imposing statues stood near the entrance pylon. Now only three colossi remain, each 20 m high, which depict Ramses II and his wife Nefertari. One of the two granite obelisks has also been preserved. Another was transported to Paris during Napoleon’s campaign in Egypt.
In the “City of the Dead” is the famous “Valley of the Pharaohs”, the place of their burial (about 40 tombs in total). It was here that the tomb of Tutankhamun was discovered.
The tombs are carved into the rocks, because they tried to hide them as carefully as possible from prying eyes. The entrances to the tombs were covered with large stones, walled up, although this did not save the tombs from ruin. All of them are built according to a similar plan: an inclined corridor up to 200 m long, steeply descending to a depth of up to 100 m and ending in three or four rooms. The walls and ceilings of the corridors and rooms are still covered with bright color drawings that tell about the life and deeds of the deceased.
A few more famous sights of Luxor are the temple of Queen Hatshepsut and the funerary temple in honor of the god Amun-Ra. Now only two statues of Amenhotep, which are called Memnon, remain from the temple. These are two gigantic statues of 20 meters in height, whose legs alone are 2 meters long and 1 meter thick.
