Luxor was the ancient city of Thebes, the great capital of (Upper) Egypt during the New Kingdom and the glorious city of Amun (god Amun-Ra). The importance of the city started as early as the 11^th Dynasty, when the town grew into a thriving city, by native nubi Egyptian, it was renowned for its high social status and luxury, but also as a centre for wisdom, art, religious and political supremacy.

In Luxor, we also visited the papyrus museum and got to see how the papyrus was made historically and of course I bought some with me back home. Driving to Luxor was an experience in itself, where we got to see a more thriving and green part of the country along the Nile river. We drove past fields of sugar canes and men in their gallibayas. We booked our trip through Getyourguide who have a lot of different activities in Egypt for you to do.

Karnak Temple

The Karnak Temple which is a UNESCO heritage site, contains a vast mix of decayed temples, chapels, pylons, and other buildings. Construction of the complex began during the reign of Senusret I. The complex is a open-air museum and the second largest ancient religious site in the world, after the Angkor Wat Temple of Cambodia. Approximately thirty pharaohs contributed to the buildings, enabling it to reach a size, complexity, and diversity not seen elsewhere. At the Karnak temple you can find one of two large obelisks for the temple, the other one stands at Place de la Concorde in Paris.

It was marvellous walking around in this temple and feel the wings of history, it’s hard to imagine all the man power it took to complete this complex and how it was actually used back in the day. If you are in Luxor, you should definitely visit the Karnak temple to see all the details up close. There’s so much preserved in the paintings on the walls and ceilings, the lucky scarab and large obelisk.