Luxor

Named by the Greek poet Homer " Thebes of the Thousand Gates ", Luxor was the centre of power for almost 1500 years. Within the confines of Luxor are some of the grandest monuments of the ancient world. On the East Bank are the splendid Temples of Luxor and Karnak besides the Luxor Museum, which houses an impressive collection of local antiquities. On the West Bank, is the Valley of Kings and Valley of Queens, another profusion of historic and artistic wealth.

Luxor has often been called the worlds greatest open air museum, as indeed it is and much more. The number and preservation of the monuments in the Luxor area are unparalleled anywhere else in the world that we know of.  Actually, what most people don't know about Luxor is that there are really three different areas, consisting of the City of Luxor on the East side of the Nile, the town of Karnak just North of Luxor and Thebes, which the ancient Egyptians called Waset, which is on the West side of the Nile.  To say that the Luxor area is a major attraction for tourists in Egypt would be an understatement.  It has been a tourist destination since the beginning of tourism.  Even in ancient times, during the late Dynasties of the Greek and Roman periods, the area drew tourists, and has been doing so ever since. Today Luxor is well equipped to accommodate tourists with many hotels and it has a tourist industry ready and willing to serve the people from many countries that descend on this area of the Nile Valley every year. Luxor today is a city of some 150,000 people and is governed by special statues that allow it more autonomy then other political areas of Egypt.  One thing you might notice is that various government and other buildings confirm to an 'ancient' building code.  Particularly, the National bank of Egypt (located near the winter palace), the spa south of the police station, and the railway station are all designed to appear as pharaonic constructs.  All of this occurred after the Egyptianization of the modern town resulting mostly from the mania that resulted from Howard Carter's discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun. As one might think, the city has all the amenities tourists might expect, including a variety of hotels, bars, nightclubs and restaurants.