Luxor sights with our Luxor Specials starts with the pick-up from your accommodation in Makadi Bay. With this Luxor West Bank Tour, we from Sempre Travel Egypt offer you the opportunity to join the trip to Luxor West Bank where some of the most famous Luxor sights are already awaiting us. Together we explore the Habu Temple, the workers` settlement Deir el-Medina and depending on the agreement either Valley of the Kings or Valley of the Queens. As soon as we arrive at the west bank of the Nile River, the so-called
Luxor West Bank
you get a glimpse of daily life in
Egypt. During the ride you can see farmers working their fields with water buffalos, large
sugar cane and banana plantations, donkey carts for the transport of the harvest in the villages and not to forget the "Tuk Tuks" for the transport of the residents. After passing the villages we come closer to the area of
ancient Egypt monuments and visit here
Habu Temple
The
Habu Temple is a witness of Egypt`s defensive battles against Libyan tribes and various sea people under
Ramses III. The reliefs of the
mortuary temple, build in
Medinet Habu, tell the story of the Pharaoh's victories. During his reign, the first documented strike in labor history took place, the strike of
Deir el-Medina. Workers stopped work during construction of his grave cause of poor working conditions, which indicated economic difficulties at the end of Ramses IIIs reign.
During the Christian period, a
Coptic church was built within the city walls in one part of
Habu Temple and residential houses in the other part. The city itself became abandoned in the 9th century. In order to restore the
Habu Temple to its former state, residential buildings were removed in 1859 and remains of the church in 1891. Until today, excavations are still taking place to reconstruct the original state of the
Habu Temple. After taking your time to explore the
Habu Temple we make our way to the
Deir el-Medina - Monastery of the town
Deir el-Medina got its name "Monastery of the town" from the small
Hathor Temple, north of the workers` settlement, which was inhabited by Coptic monks for a long time.
This workers` settlement was formed on the
Luxor West Bank, former West Thebes, during the reign of
Amenhotep I.
From about 1520 to 1069 BC.
Deir el-Medina was inhabited by workers and artists with their families, who created and decorated the
tombs of the pharaohs in the
Valley of the Kings. The
ancient ruins of the settlement provide archaeologists with important information about the life of the people at that time. Their cemeteries, located right next to the settlement, surprise with their excellent wall paintings that are in no way inferior to the
royal tombs in terms of perfection. Some of them even surpass those of the noble tombs.
After visiting
Deir el-Medina we take a lunch break at a traditional Restaurant. Enjoy a delicious lunch, before we continue our
Luxor West Bank Tour with a visit to either the
Valley of the Queens or the
Valley of the Kings
While making our way to the
Valley of the Kings take a look at the mountain landscape and discover some of the caves in the walls, which are testimonies of grave robbers in search of undiscovered graves. In the
Valley of the Kings, we visit 3 impressive tombs (included in the entrance fee). Make your way down to the inside of the tombs and take your time to gaze at beautifully preserved drawings on the walls. All of these tell the story of different Kings. Our
Tour Guide will be happy to answer all your questions.
Did you decide to choose our alternative tour for a visit to the
Valley of the Queens? Then the path from
Deir el-Medina leads us directly to the
Valley of the Queens
In the necropolis of the
Valley of the Queens, you not only discover graves of former queens but also of their families, so the name
Valley of the Queens is slightly misleading. In the
Valley of the Queens, actually “the place of beauty” (Ta Set Neferu), more than 90 tombs can be discovered, most of which, however, had already been robbed.
Valley of the Queens lies behind the mortuary temple of
Ramses III, the
Medinet Habu and, in contrast to the
Valley of the Kings, is not so hidden, so it was easily accessible for everyone. The tombs are not as richly decorated with paintings as those in the
Valley of the Kings, although the most famous tomb of
Nefertari, the wife of
Ramses II, is worth a visit.
Our
Luxor Specials – Luxor West Bank with our Makadi Bay day trips slowly comes to an end and we leave the
Luxor West Bank back to your accommodation in
Makadi Bay.