Luxor – the world’s largest open-air museum

Gosia — Sat, 03 Aug 2024 16:15:28 +0000

Luxor is also called the world’s largest open-air museum. Indeed, there are so many tourist attractions that you could easily spend a week or even longer here. The city was built around 1400 BC and was better known as ancient Thebes. Observing Luxor and its surroundings, you can imagine that this place must have been very impressive at that time. Even now, despite the fact that several thousand years have passed, you can still feel the power of ancient Egypt. Thebes was an important religious centre as evidenced by the number of religious objects that have survived to this day. In the eastern part of Luxor there’s the Temple of Karnak and the Temple of Luxor. Both are connected by a wide Alley of Sphinxes with a length of about 3 km, along which you can see, as you can guess, the statues of sphinxes 😉 Meanwhile, on the other side of the Nile, in the western part, there are, among others The Valley of the Kings, Colossi of Memnon and the Temple of Hatshepsut. It’s best to start exploring the city from the Luxor Temple, preferably at dusk. The setting sun and interesting lighting create an amazing atmosphere of this place. In front of the entrance to the temple, there’re two obelisks that symbolize the connection between the earth and the gods. In general, obelisks in ancient Egypt were often placed in front of temples and palaces. According to Egyptians’ beliefs, they’re the home of the sun, god – Ra. Just behind the obelisks you can see huge statues of Ramses II. The further path leads through courtyards surrounded by numerous columns. The scale of the Temple of Karnak, also known as the Great Hypostyle, is surprising. Anyway, it’s no wonder, it was built for a century and a half. It was erected in honour of the god Amun – Re. The most impressive is the hypostyle hall – made of 138 columns, decorated in a way that resembles papyrus flowers. The walls of the temple are decorated with numerous pictures serving as information carriers. The drawings of the scarab, which according to Egyptian beliefs was considered the god of the rising sun, are a very popular motif. The complex also includes the Holy Lake, where crocodiles symbolizing the god Sobek and hippos symbolizing the goddess Teoris were bred. Apparently, they were also embalmed and buried in accordance with the Egyptian tradition. A completely different face of Luxor can be seen on the other side of the Nile. Just a few-minute cruise is enough to see a completely different reality. The green fields in the eastern part of the Nile give way to a barren, desert landscape. It feels like Luxor is naturally divided into a vibrant and empty part, devoid of life. The sites on this side seem to confirm this. The Valley of the Kings- a complex of 63 tombs of the pharaohs is located here. Most of them are open to the public. This place makes an amazing impression. Inside the tombs you can see colourful paintings, most often depicting a boat motif, symbolizing death. It’s true that most of the tombs were plundered, but on site, for an additional fee, you can see the tomb of Tutanchamon. It was the only tomb that escaped the thieves’ attention. When Howard Carter and a group of archaeologists saw it in November 1922, they reportedly discovered about 2,000 items inside, mostly valuables. However, it’s hard to talk about the happiness of the team, because they were affected by the so-called the curse of Tutankhamun. Archaeologists began to die in completely unexplained circumstances, which was supposed to be the pharaoh’s revenge for disturbing his peace. Near the Valley of the Kings there’s the Temple of Hatshepsut. A large part of the temple was carved into the rock, and the whole construction makes an amazing impression mainly due to the surrounding views of the Nile valley. The complex is divided into three terraces from which you can admire the green fields on the other side of the river, contrasting with the desert landscape. What’s more interesting, thanks to Polish archaeologists, the temple was made available for sightseeing. When leaving the west bank of the Nile, it is worth visiting the archaeological site of the former temple of Amenhotep III. It’s true that practically it’s impossible to see here the former temples, but there’re still the 18-meter Colossi of Memnon. What’s more interesting, also in ancient times, the colossi were an unusual tourist attraction. As a result of the earthquake in 27 BCE one of them was destroyed in such a way that it made a specific sound when the wind was blowing. This made it very popular with pilgrims from the Roman Empire. Only its reconstruction in 199 put an end to this phenomenon. However, Luxor is not only a great archaeological site. Normal life goes on in the city. It’s worth seeing, for example, in the local bazaar. Here you can see how the residents of Luxor live, not to mention that in the absence of other tourists nearby it’s quite probably that you will be in the spotlight. What’s more interesting, I wasn’t forced to buy goods here, which is so popular in Egypt. On the contrary, the sellers smiled pleasantly and looked with interest, probably thinking what I was actually doing there. It is also worth taking a look at the side streets. The best way to finish the sightseeing tour is a walk on the banks of the Nile, at sunset.

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Abu Simbel – Egypt, buried temples and mirage

Gosia — Thu, 16 Sep 2021 05:43:51 +0000

Abu Simbel is one of the greatest tourist attractions of Egypt, right behind the Pyramids of Giza. It’s located on the far southern part of Egypt, just below the Sudan border, actually in the middle of nowhere, or more specifically, in the middle of the Sahara desert, far from any civilization. Reason enough to be here as life here is very different than in the rest of Egypt. Abu Simbel consists of two temples: Ramses’es II and his wife Nefertari’s. The Temple of Ramses is dedicated to the sun gods Amon-Re, Re-Horachte and to Ptah – the god of arts and crafts. The entrance to the temple makes an amazing impression, it’s decorated with huge statues of Ramses II, each of them is 20 meters high. At the feet of the pharaoh, you can see the other members of the royal family: his wife Nefertari and children. The entire temple is about 30 meters high. Inside, you can see numerous reliefs depicting pharaoh’s power and courage. The interior of the temple is quite dark, while during the two days of the year on February 22nd and October 22nd, the figures of the sun gods Amun-Re and (Ra-Horakhty and Amon-Re) are illuminated with sunrays. The nearby Nefertari Temple was dedicated to Ramses’ beloved wife and the goddess of love and beauty – Hathor. It’s a copy of Ramses Temple. At its entrance, you can see four statues representing Rameses II and two depicting Nefertari. More interestingly, this is the only place where the statue of the pharaoh and his wife are equal, usually the wives of the rulers were “placed” in their legs. It means that Nefertari had a very big independence and power. We mustn’t forget that Ramses II had a great weakness for women. It is estimated that he had about 170 children. In the interior of the temple, you can see reliefs depicting Nefertari. What’s more interesting, nowadays the temples are located in a completely different place than they were built. In the years 1964 – 1968 they’re relocated. The need for relocation was caused by the construction of the Aswan High Dam on the Nile, which threatened to flood the temples. The temples were then divided into pieces, which were then placed like Lego blocks on a specially created hill, so that the waters of the artificially created Lake Nasser would not pose a threat to them. The location of the temple of Ramses was also reconstructed so as to obtain the effect of illuminating the statues twice a year. More interestingly, the works on behalf of UNESCO were managed by a Polish archaeologist – Kazimierz Michałowski. The temples in Abu Simbel are not the only reason why you should go here. The amazing desert landscapes and the opportunity to see how people live here, in my opinion, are even a greater attraction than the temples themselves. Characteristic architecture can be seen here. The buildings are topped with domes, which allows for better ventilation. Proper air movement is very important, because the temperature here can reach up to 122°F . Only some of the buildings here are made of brick. In general, you can often see various types of huts or makeshift tents. At first glance, you can see that life here is not easy. In the desert you can see some irrigation systems, but there is no vegetation. So what exactly do people do here for a living? The proximity of the border with Sudan makes the nearby town of Abu Sunbul an important trade center. On the road, you can find mainly trucks transporting various goods. Often you can see the cattle that are brought here from Sudan. Along the road, you can see numerous warehouses, stalls, tires and animal bones – probably cattle that did not survive the long journey. You can see mostly men on the streets, while women can be seen at the bus stops. And finally, one more surprise 🙂 On the way towards Aswan you can see a mirage. The sight made an amazing impression on me, it actually looked as if the rocks were reflected in the water surface. It’s a pity that the photos, unfortunately, do not reflect this phenomenon.

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Egypt -

Luxor – the world’s largest open-air museum

Abu Simbel – Egypt, buried temples and mirage