Luxor Temple is one of the most beautiful temples in Egypt. It was known in the New King Dom as Ipt-Rsyt. The temple was built in 1400 BC during the New Kingdom times. It is located on the eastern bank of the Nile River in Luxor city.
King Amenhotep III ordered to build this temple, and the genius engineer Amenhotep Ibn Hapu supervised its construction during the 18th Dynasty. The temple was built on the site of a small temple of Amun built during the 12th Dynasty. The length of the temple is 190 meters and its width is 55 meters.
King Ramses II added the first courtyard and the first pylon of the temple, two great obelisks, and 6 large statues in front of the first pylon.
The temple begins with the avenue of sphinx built by King Nikhtanebo that leading to the first pylon . In front of the first pylon, there are 6 statues and one of the obelisks while the other was moved to a Place de le Concorde in Paris as a gift from Muhammad Ali Pasha to the King of Francea.
To the right of the first open court, there is a triple shrine for the holy boats of the Triad of Thebes built by Queen Hatshepsut and King Tuthmosis III. On the left, you will see the Abu Al-Hajjaj mosque.
The open court leads to the colonnade that was built by King Amenhotep III. It consists of two rows of large open papyrus columns, and this hall was decorated with views of the Opet Festival (special celebrations for visiting the triad of the Karnak Temple to the Luxor temple and this feast lasted 24 days).
This colonnade leads to Amenhotep III court. This court contains of 3 rows of papyrus columns, and this hall leads to another hypostyle hall decorated with hunting scenes of King Amenhotep III and views of the king in front of the gods.
At the back of this hall, there are two chapels. The first one is dedicated for Mut, while the other is for Khonsu.
Then there is the birth room with scenes of the divine birth of King Amenhotep III.
Then there is the room of Alexander the Great, then the longhypostyle hall, finally the Holy of Holies.
you can visit Luxor Temple with Cairo and Luxor Tour in 5 Days