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Luxor
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For more than a thousand years, Luxor, was the religious capital of Egypt. The
Greeks called it Thebes, "the ancient Thebes of the hundred doors",
until the Arabs baptized it Medinet el Kussur, "City of Palaces",
from which the name Luxor derived. It was the capital of the Pharaohs of the
New Empire which coincided with the greatest period of splendor in the Egyptian
history. Evidence of the city's glorious past can be seen in the temple of
Karnak erected to the glory of Amon- Ra, king of gods. Measuring 260 meters
long it was started by Pharaoh Amon-Ofis III and later completed by Ramses II.
The celebration of Opet closed with the priests carrying the sacred boat of
Amon-Ra from the temple of Karnak, to the sanctuary of Luxor's Temple. This
procession was always accompanied by a celebratory crowd singing and performing
sacred dances. On the West Bank, the kings of ancient Egypt, including Seti I
Rameses VI and Tubankhamon, thought they would rest undisturbed during their
journeys into eternity. The valleys hosting the tombs of the kings, queens,
nobles and court dignitaries follow on one after another. Beyond the temple of
Queen Hatsheput you can find the Colossi of Memnon, so called by the Greeks in
memory of Homeric hero Memnon, who was said to emerge at sunrise from the
statues to greet his mother Eos (Aurora) with musical notes.
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