Luxor
Amun-Ra was the local god of Karnak (Luxor) and during the New Kingdom, when the princes of Thebes ruled Egypt, he became the preeminent state god, with a…
Must-see attractions in Luxor
Luxor
Ramses III’s magnificent memorial temple of Medinat Habu, fronted by sleepy Kom Lolah village and backed by the Theban mountains, is one of the west bank…
Luxor
This wonderful museum has a well-chosen and brilliantly displayed and explained collection of antiquities dating from the end of the Old Kingdom right…
Luxor
The west bank of Luxor had been the site of royal burials since around 2100 BC, but it was the pharaohs of the New Kingdom period (1550–1069 BC) who chose…
Luxor
With some of the broadest corridors, longest shafts (117m) and greatest variety of decoration, KV 9 is one of the most spectacular tombs in the valley…
Luxor
Karnak is an extraordinary complex of sanctuaries, kiosks, pylons and obelisks dedicated to the Theban triad but also to the greater glory of pharaohs…
Luxor
These tombs are some of the best least-visited attractions on the west bank. Nestled in the foothills opposite the Ramesseum are more than 400 tombs…
Luxor
The most interesting parts of the tomb of Sennofer, overseer of the Garden of Amun under Amenhotep II, are to be found deep underground, in the main…
Luxor
One of the great achievements of Egyptian art, this cathedral-like tomb is the finest in the Valley of the Kings. Long closed to visitors, it is now…
Luxor
Largely built by the New Kingdom pharaohs Amenhotep III (1390–1352 BC) and Ramses II (1279–1213 BC), this temple is a strikingly graceful monument in the…
Luxor
At Deir Al Bahri, the eyes first focus on the dramatic rugged limestone cliffs that rise nearly 300m above the desert plain, only to realise that at the…
Luxor
The story of the celebrated discovery of the famous tomb and all the fabulous treasures it contained far outshines the reality of the small tomb of a…
Luxor
The two faceless Colossi of Memnon, originally representing Pharaoh Amenhotep III, rising majestically about 18m from the plain, are the first monuments…
Luxor
Ramses II called his massive memorial ‘the Temple of Millions of Years of User-Maat-Ra’; classical visitors called it the tomb of Ozymandias; and Jean…
Luxor
One of the most popular tombs in the valley, KV 11 is also one of the most interesting and best preserved. Originally started by Sethnakht (1186–1184 BC),…
Carter’s House & the Replica Tomb of Tutankhamun
Luxor
The domed mud-brick house where Howard Carter lived during his search for Tutankhamun’s tomb is surrounded by a garden on what is otherwise a barren slope…
Luxor
This site takes its name from a Ptolemaic temple, later converted to a Coptic monastery – the Monastery of the Town – but the real attraction is the…
Luxor
Seti I, who built the superbly decorated temple at Abydos, his beautiful tomb in the Valley of the Kings and Karnak’s magnificent hypostyle hall, died…
Luxor
Nefertari's tomb is hailed as one of the finest in the Theban necropolis – and all of Egypt for that matter. Nefertari was one of five wives of Ramses II,…
Luxor
At the southern end of the Theban hillside, the Valley of the Queens contains at least 75 tombs that belonged to queens of the 19th and 20th dynasties as…
Luxor
This 91m-long tomb was built for Amenhotep II (sometimes also called Amenophis II), who succeeded his father, the great king Tuthmosis III. Amenophis died…
Luxor
Horemheb was Tutankhamun's general, who succeeded Ay, Tutankhamun's briefly reigning tutor. His tomb has beautiful decoration that shows the first use of…
Luxor
Although only the burial chamber is decorated, this tomb, tucked away in the West Valley, is noted for its scenes of Ay hunting hippopotamus and fishing…
Luxor
Hidden in the hills between high limestone cliffs, and reached only via a steep staircase that crosses an even steeper ravine, this tomb demonstrates the…
Luxor
The tomb of Tuthmosis IV (1400–1390 BC) is one of the largest and deepest tombs constructed during the 18th dynasty. It is also the first in which paint…
Tomb of Tawosret/Sethnakht (KV 14)
Luxor
Tawosret was the wife of Seti II and after his successor Siptah died, she took power herself (1188–1186 BC). Egyptologists think she began the tomb for…
Luxor
The second-largest tomb in the valley, Merenptah’s tomb has been open since antiquity and has its share of Greek and Coptic graffiti. Floods have damaged…
Luxor
Hassan Fathy’s mud-brick village lies just past the railway track on the road from the ferry to the Antiquities Inspectorate ticket office. Although built…
Tombs of Menna, Nakht & Amenemope
Luxor
The beautiful and highly colourful wall paintings in the tomb of Menna and the tomb of Nakht emphasise rural life in 18th-dynasty Egypt. Menna was an…
Luxor
Originally intended to be much larger, KV 2 was cut short at 89m on the early death of the pharaoh (1147 BC) and a pillared hall was converted to be the…
Tombs of Ramose, Userhet & Khaemhet
Luxor
The tomb of Ramose, a governor of Thebes under Amenhotep III and Akhenaten, is fascinating because it is one of the few monuments dating from a period of…
Tombs of Khonsu, Userhet & Benia (Nos 31, 51 & 343)
Luxor
The tomb of Benia is the most colourful of this trio. Benia was a boarder in the Royal Nursery and chief treasurer during the reign of Tuthmosis III…
Luxor
Housed in the former visitors centre on Luxor’s corniche, the Mummification Museum has well-presented exhibits explaining the art of mummification. The…
Tomb of Mentuherkhepeshef (KV 19)
Luxor
The only tomb of a prince that you can visit in the Valley of the Kings (others are closed), this was decorated for Prince Rameses Mentuherkhepeshef (c…
Luxor
Hidden in the desert cliffs north of Deir Al Bahri lies yet another necropolis, Dra Abu’l Naga, with more than 100 tombs of rulers and officials. Most of…
Luxor
Only half decorated at the time of the king's death and open since antiquity, this is not the most interesting tomb in the valley, but it is one the most…
Luxor
Near the main entrance is the small, unfinished tomb of Ramses VII (1136–1129 BC). Only 44m long – short for a royal tomb because of Ramses’ sudden death …
Luxor
Off to the left (north) of the first court of the Amun Temple Enclosure is Karnak’s open-air museum. The word 'museum' and the fact that there is so much…
Luxor
If you can't afford entry to the Tomb of Nefertari, the valley’s showpiece is the tomb of Amunherkhepshef, with beautiful, well-preserved reliefs…
Luxor
This group of tombs, near the Temple of Hatshepsut, belongs to 18th-dynasty nobles, and 25th- and 26th-dynasty nobles under the Nubian pharaohs. The area…
