Temple of Luxor

Temple of Luxor

Introduction   The Temple of Luxor is located three kilometers from the Karnak Temple and served as the riverside palace of the god Amun during the Opet Festival in ancient Thebes. A small section of the Avenue of Sphinxes can be seen in front of the temple entrance, lined with carvings of ram-headed statues. Most of the temple's construction was carried out by Pharaoh Amenhotep III of the 18th Dynasty. Later, Ramses II added the gateway and courtyard, and erected six statues of himself at the entrance, three of which still remain. These stand alongside a massive obelisk in front of the temple. Originally, there were two obelisks; the one on the right was given to France by Muhammad Ali in exchange for a clock in 1838 and now stands in Paris's Place de la Concorde. Upon entering the temple, after the first pylon, there is a central courtyard surrounded by two rows of columns. The colonnade at the northern entrance is particularly striking, with 14 columns each about 14 meters high. The lotus-bud capitals are beautifully crafted, and each column symbolizes the might of the pharaoh. Many of the pharaoh statues in the temple have had their faces defaced, a result of Christian efforts to suppress the worship of the ancient rulers. In the front section of the temple, a mosque was built atop the columns. This occurred in the 19th century when the temple was buried under Nile silt—residents built the mosque unknowingly. It wasn’t until the temple was excavated that this unusual juxtaposition became evident. If you have the chance, visit the Temple of Luxor at night; the atmosphere is completely different from the daytime, and there are often sound-and-light shows performed in the evenings.

Luxor, Egypt