Luxor is a city in Upper (southern) Egypt and the capital of Luxor Governorate. The population numbers 487,896 (2010 estimate),[2] with an area of approximately 416 square kilometres (161 sq mi).[1] As the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of Thebes, Luxor has frequently been characterized as the "world's greatest open air museum", as the ruins of the temple complexes at Karnak and Luxor stand within the modern city. Immediately opposite, across the River Nile, lie the monuments, temples and tombs on the West Bank Necropolis, which include the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens. Thousands of international tourists arrive annually to visit these monuments, contributing a large part towards the economy for the modern city.
Luxor was the ancient city of Thebes, the great capital of Egypt during the New Kingdom, and the glorious city of the god Amon-Ra. The city was regarded in the Ancient Egyptian texts as w3s.t (approximate pronunciation: "Waset"), which meant or "city of the sceptre" and also as t3 ip3t (probably pronounced as "ta ipet" and meaning "the shrine") and then, in a later period, the Greeks called it Thebai and the Romans after them Thebae. Thebes was also known as "the city of the 100 gates", sometimes being called "southern Heliopolis" ('Iunu-shemaa' in Ancient Egyptian), to distinguish it from the city of Iunu or Heliopolis, the main place of worship for the god Re in the north. It was also often referred to as niw.t, which simply means "city", and was one of only three cities in Egypt for which this noun was used (the other two were Memphis and Heliopolis); it was also called niw.t rst, "southern city", as the southernmost of them.
The importance of the city started as early as the 11th Dynasty, when the town grew into a thriving city, renowned for its high social status and luxury, but also as a center for wisdom, art, religious and political supremacy.[3] Montuhotep II who united Egypt after the troubles of the first intermediate period brought stability to the lands as the city grew in stature. The Pharaohs of the New Kingdom in their expeditions to Kush, in today's northern Sudan, and to the lands of Canaan, Phoenicia and Syria saw the city accumulate great wealth and rose to prominence, even on a world scale.[3] Thebes played a major role in expelling the invading forces of the Hyksos from Upper Egypt, and from the time of the 18th Dynasty through to the 20th Dynasty, the city had risen as the major political, religious and military capital of Ancient Egypt.
Read more about this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxor
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Luxor |
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Luxor by Night |
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Luxor by Night |
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Luxor by Night |
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Luxor by Night |
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Luxor by Night |
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Luxor by Night |
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Luxor by Night |
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Luxor by Night |
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Luxor by Night |
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Luxor by Night |
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Luxor by Night |
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Karnak Temple, Luxor |
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Karnak Temple, Luxor |
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Karnak Temple, Luxor |
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Karnak Temple, Luxor |
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Karnak Temple, Luxor |
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Karnak Temple, Luxor |
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Karnak Temple, Luxor |
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Karnak Temple, Luxor |
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Karnak Temple, Luxor |
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Karnak Temple, Luxor |
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Karnak Temple, Luxor |
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Karnak Temple, Luxor |
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Karnak Temple, Luxor |
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Luxor Temple, Luxor |
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Luxor Temple, Luxor |
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Luxor Temple, Luxor |
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Luxor Temple, Luxor |
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Luxor Temple, Luxor |
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Luxor Temple, Luxor |
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Luxor Temple, Luxor |
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Luxor Temple, Luxor |
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Luxor Temple, Luxor |
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Cruize Boat, Luxor |
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Cruize Boat, Luxor |
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Luxor Museum, Luxor |
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Luxor Museum, Luxor |
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Luxor Museum, Luxor |
City Images Source: https://picasaweb.google.com/109427120202667266199/200404TravelEgypt
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