In the morning, after a relaxed breakfast, our employee will pick you up from your accommodation in Luxor or from your Nile cruise ship and take you on an excursion into Ancient Egypt.
In Luxor, we first visit one of the largest temple complexes in the world, the
Karnak Temple
In addition to the world-famous Pyramids of Giza, one of the highlights of all the Egypt tours is the large Karnak Temple, the most visited sight in Egypt. In ancient Egypt, the religious heart beats here during the reign of many gods, including Amun, Mut, and Khonsu, a triad consisting of father, mother, and child ("family of gods").
The construction of this impressive temple complex of Karnak extended over several generations of pharaohs. Often parts were destroyed, and new parts were built with the existing components. This is how Karnak Temple was created over centuries, with its chapels, pylons, columns, statues, and obelisks that will captivate you when you enter the temple complex.
Sphinx Avenue
The entrance of the temple is formed by an avenue of sphinxes, the so-called Sphinx Avenue, part of a processional path that led from Luxor Temple to the Karnak Temple and opens the way directly into the world's largest hypostyle hall.
Hypostyle hall
In the Karnak Temple itself, you will find information boards on the various cult buildings. During your walk through the overwhelming Temple complex, our experienced Egyptologist will be at your side for all your questions. Before we leave the Karnak Temple, we visit the
Karnak Holy Lake
in the outside area. The Karnak Holy Lake, which is filled with water to this day, was used for ritual ablution ceremonies during the pharaohs' time and offers the Karnak Sound and Light Show, held on some evenings, a great backdrop to the illuminated temple complex of Karnak.
With these overwhelming impressions, we make our way to the beautifully located
Luxor Temple
The Luxor Temple combines 3 religions in one complex, from the view of the beautiful Luxor promenade to the temple complex of the Luxor Temple, you can see church ruins, a mosque inside the complex, as well as the actual temple construction at the time of the worship of the gods, which, however, in contrast to the Karnak Temple as
Coronation Temple
acted. With a width of 65 meters and a height of 25 meters, the pylon at the entrance is one of the biggest ones in Egypt. The biggest one you can find in Karnak Temple with a width of 100 meters and the second largest in Edfu. At the entrance of the Luxor Temple, he is in line with two 14 m tall seated statues of Ramses II. Behind the pylon, you can see the raised ground-level mosque, built at a time, when the Luxor Temple was half-covered by desert sand.
Arcade
We walk through the splendid, 14-column arcade that connects the courtyard of Ramses II with the southern temple area. Inside the complex, you will come across the remains of small churches from the Christian era in Thebes (Luxor).
Luxor Obelisk
Of the 2 obelisks that were formerly inside the Luxor Temple, one of the two has been on the Place de la Concorde in Paris since 1836, a gift from Egypt.
3 world religions
In the Luxor Temple, you will come across the traces of three major historical phases that are still visible today: the rule of the pharaohs in ancient Egypt, Egypt during the Coptic Christian period, and Islamic Egypt.
Luxor Temple Sphinx Avenue
When you leave the Luxor Temple, you can see the impressive avenue of sphinxes, the processional way between Karnak Temple and Luxor Temple, which was restored in years of excavation- and restoration work against the resistance of many Luxor residents.
At the end of our Luxor East Bank Tour – Karnak Temple – Luxor Temple, you have some time to enjoy the view of the opposite bank of the Nile River. With good visibility, you can even discover the Hatshepsut Temple, one of the attractions of the Luxor West Bank, before we take you back to your accommodation in Luxor or escort you to your Nile cruise ship.
