The magnificent temple of Luxor is best seen early in the morning before the bulk of the tourists arrive, or late in the day when they have left.
On our first visit to Luxor we stayed in the Sheraton, which was fine, and had a nice outdoor barbecue and we had a room with a Nile view - essential!
On our second visit we stayed at The Old Winter Palace, which is a wonderful much more atmospheric place: high-ceilinged rooms, sweeping staircases and an enormous restaurant. We loved our room, with a view of the Nile and across to the Necropolis of Thebes - a fine place to watch the sun setting over the desert.
Breakfasts in the hotel were great - particularly the waffles. But having tried the "French" restaurant we couldn't really recommend it - overpriced and poor wine choice.
When we go back, however, we shall certainly stay here again if we can!
We got into the habit of getting up very early, spending the morning visiting sites, then returning for lunch and relaxation in the afternoon in the shade by the pool - a most pleasant way to spend time.
Later we'd visit the bazaars and barter for sandals, or galabias, or just wander around, down to the People's Ferry perhaps, and watch people go about their daily lives.
We followed a recommendation to visit the museum at Luxor and found it excellent. It is well organised and well lit with some wonderful artefacts. Highlights were a beautiful statue of Tuthmosis III, several Hatshepsut-related items - a wall painting depicting her as consort to Tuthmosis II and items from Deir el Bahri - and 24 statues found in 1989 at Luxor temple, especially the red granite Amenhotep III.
Lying alongside the Nile, and once connected to the Temple of Karnak by an avenue of human-headed sphinxes, the Temple of Luxor was constructed entirely at the end of the XVIII Dynasty and first half of the XIX Dynasty.1
The temple was begun by Amenhotep III (1417 - 1379BC) on the site of a Middle Kingdom temple and was dedicated to the Theban Triad of Amun Ra, his wife Mut, and their son the moon god Khonsu.
It is oriented NE-SW with the main entrance on the NE side. Here a line of human-headed sphinxes, added by Nectanebo of the XXX Dynasty (380-343 BC), once stretched all the way to the Temple of Karnak.
The sphinxes lead to a massive pylon which, along with the court behind it, was added by Ramses II (1304 - 1237BC).
The pylon was originally fronted by six statues of Ramses II, two seated and six striding, and two obelisks. Now only the two sitting statues and one striding remain, along with one of the obelisks - the other now stands in the Place de la Concorde in Paris.
The pylon walls are carved with scenes from the Battle of Kadesh which Ramses fought against the Hittite king in the fifth year of his reign. Ramses claimed this as a massive victory, though he failed to take the city. Further battle scenes are depicted on the western temple wall through the great pylon.
The great Court of Ramses II is reached by passing through the pylon. A chapel in the north west corner dedicated to Amun Re, Mut and Khons was built by Tuthmosis III (1504 - 1450BC) and his step-mother Hatshepsut 200 years before Ramses incorporated it into his court. Ramses' court follows the lines of this older chapel and explains why it is out of alignment with the Amenhotep-era building.
In the north west corner is a small temple built by Tuthmosis III which has three niches to house the sacred boats of Amun, Mut and Khonsu.
A mosque has also been incorporated into this court, the Mosque of Abu el Haggag who died here in 1243. Though the minaret is eleventh century, the mosque itself dates from the nineteenth.2
At the opposite end to the entrance to the Court of Amenhotep III through the pylon is the Great Colonnade of Amenhotep III. On each side of the colonnade is a huge black granite seated statue of Ramses II - on the right a smaller figure of his wife Nefertari stands by his right leg.
The fourteen columns of the colonnade are topped with open lotus blossom capitals, stand almost 16 metres high and lead south to the Court of Amenhotep III. They are without doubt the single most impressive feature of the temple.
