Luxor / Thebes and the Middle Nile Valley from South of Qena to North of Idfu Major Cities and Towns
About the Area This area is really dominated by the Luxor/Karnak/Thebes open-air museum, filled with awe inspiring monuments of ancient civilization as well as some of the best preserved As Weset it was the capital of Egypt during the New Kingdom; as Thebes it was described by Homer as "the hundred-gated city." Its later name, al-Uqsur, means "City of the Palaces." Testaments to a desire for immortality, built for eternity in sandstone and granite, the temples, tombs and palaces still stand, surrounded by souks and luxury hotels. On the east bank of the Nile, in the City of the Living, Luxor and Karnak Temples greet the sunrise. The sunset on the west bank throws shadows through the City of the Dead: the Tombs of the Nobles, the Valley of the Kings, Queen Hatshepsut's temple. Today, you can walk through history; past statues with the heads of gods and animals, beneath carved lotus buds and papyrus. Ride in a horse-drawn caleche, sail in a felucca, take a sunset cruise or see the city from a hot-air balloon. Please be aware that more than 80 percent of Egyptian artifacts are in the Thebes area and plan your visit accordingly. Many tours devote only four days to the area, with one of those days being a side trip to Abydos and Dendera. Elsewhere in this region, we find not only some of the oldest remains in Egypt, but also the history of trade and agriculture, of vast camel caravans and the cities that grew from that. How to Get to Luxor
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