Overview to Luxor: Travel Guide and Tourist Information
Hot, dusty and high in the hassle stakes – even for Egypt – Luxor isn’t necessarily everybody’s idea of a perfect travel location. Thankfully, though, its jaw-droppingly impressive sights more than make up for it.
And once you get used to it, the town’s not without its charms, either. Hugging the eastern bank of the Nile (which is cluttered with bobbing feluccas and cruise ships), it’s a noisy, bustling sort of place filled with pushy salesmen and vibrant bazaars.
Luxor Temple – a striking mass of columns surrounding a couple of courtyards – lies at the heart of the town, while (slightly to the north) the Mummification Museum is also worth a look. Beyond that, Luxor Museum has a fascinating array of historical artifacts.
But that’s far from the main draw which is, of course, the utterly magnificent Karnak Temple complex to the north of the city. Taking over 1300 years to build, it stretches over 100 acres and includes the truly staggering Great Hypostyle Hall in the Precinct of Amun.
On the other side of the river, the Theban Necropolis is only marginally less impressive. The seemingly endless series of tombs reach their pinnacle in the glorious Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens and the Tombs of the Nobles, but the hills are riddled with yet more sites.
Nightlife-wise, the Sound and Light Show at Karnak Temple should definitely be experienced. Slightly unusually, Karnak isn’t short of a bar or tacky nightclub or two. But a better option is people-watching on a steaming night over a coffee on Sharia Ramses and Sharia el Karnak.
