Visit to Luxor Temple, which stands in the center of the city, also on the eastern bank of the Nile.

The temple is one of the most fascinating monuments of ancient Egypt, an elegant example of pharaonic architecture.

Dedicated to the Theban triad of Amun, Mut and Khonsu, the temple was built by Amenhotep III (Amenofi III, the “Sun King” of the 18th Dynasty), whose long reign represented the peak of the power and prestige of ancient Egypt. The road that leads to the temple, lined with two rows of sphinxes, is called the Avenue of the Sphinxes and once extended as far as Karnak, 3 km further north.

Walking in the surrounding area, among the modern buildings of Luxor, traces of this processional avenue can still be found, with some statue fragments still intact. Arriving at the temple, the first thing one notices is the main pylon in front of the entrance, decorated with scenes of the victory of Ramses II over the Hittites in the Qadesh’s Battle.

In front of the pylon there were originally six colossal statues of Ramses II and two obelisks. In the 19th century one of the obelisks was moved to Paris to Place de la Concorde, a gift to the French people from the then Egyptian viceroy Mohammed Ali.