The Luxor Temple was the site of a yearly festival that brought the human part and the divine part of the king together, reiterating his divine rule. The temple was connected by the sphinx-lined entrance way to
Karnak Temple, and the statues of the kings and the gods were brought from Karnak down the Nile river and paraded in front of the Egyptian people. (The sphinx heads are of Ramses II). The festival began as only a week-long party, but it evolved into a 2-plus day festival!
The temple was built for the Egyptian traid, the sun god Amun-Ra, and his wife and sun. Two kings are responsible for what visitors still see, Amenhotep III and Ramses II. (Is there anything in Egypt that Ramses II
didn’t build?)
There are many good examples here of columns, with their papyrus and lotus flower capitals (the papyrus was the symbol of upper Egypt and the lotus the symbol of lower Egypt. Lower Egypt is north on the map and Upper Egypt is south on the map, it’s all quite confusing, but that’s the way the Nile flows.)
At the back of the complex, only a foot away from each other, stands a wall from ancient Egyptian times right next to a wall from the Romans, with the Egyptian reliefs having been painted over and replaced with Christian themes, and the wall is currently being renovated. What I thought was very interesting is that Alexander the Great carved hieroglyphics into his wall as well, to gain the favor and support of the Egyptians.
An obelisk stands at the entrance, placed there by Ramses II. There were originally two, but one was given to France early in the 1800s. There are also two large statues of Ramses II at the entrance, only two out of the original five that were there.
To see Luxor Temple is to complete the link between it and the Karnak temple. Of the two, I think that Karnak is the more impressive of but each one is an excellent example of Egyptian pharaoh excess and worship.
Entrance fee: 20 Egyptian pounds.
From journal Luxor Egypt, Not Vegas