SCORPION

Modern art museum

The Largest Museum In The Open Air

Submitted By: Tatyana Kogut. 

Ancient Greeks called Luxor “the hundred-gate Thebes”. Thanks to a great amount of important archaeological sites tourism became one of the strategic branches for local economy. There is an international airport found in this city and for many cruises around the Nile, Luxor is the starting or final point.

On the right bank of the Nile, approximately 3 km north-east of Luxor there is a monumental ensemble of Karnak – the largest and most famous temple in Egypt built in the times of the pharaohs rule. Three temple complexes occupied the northern part of the ancient Thebes and, besides three Precincts, included a 120-meter-long sacred lake. In the evening there is a light show held here, which helps you discover the temple’s ancient history by the means of sound and light effects.

Opposite the Karnak, on the edge of the desert there is a huge necropolis located in the basement of a natural rocky Pyramid. This is the Valley of the Kings – the ancient Egyptian burial place where there were 63 graves found. Despite the thousand-year activity of grave robbers, the Valley of the Kings has brought lots of surprises to modern Egyptology scientists. One of them is the tomb of Tutankhamun discovered there in a completely intact state by Howard Carter in 1922. While staying in Luxor, you might also want to visit Howard Carter’s museum that demonstrates some instruments used when searching for graves. By the way, there is also another attraction found not far from the Valley of the Kings – this is the Valley of the Queens that is almost unknown to the public.

On the valley widespread between the Nile and the Valley of the Kings, you can see the remains of the monumental alley that lead to the temple of Amenophis III. Unfortunately, the temple has disappeared but there are two giant 20-metre high statues left, known as the Colossi of Memnon. The colossi faces were damaged during an earthquake that occurred here in previous centuries. But despite this, they are no less impressive then the other Luxor temples.