Luxor

The Egyptian name of the city is

and

. The Sahidic Coptic name ⲡⲁⲡⲉ, primary prior to the Arab conquest of Egypt, comes from Demotic Ỉp.t "the adyton", which, in turn, is derived from the Egyptian. The Greek forms Ἀπις and Ὠφιεῖον come from the same source.[2]

The name Luxor is almost a literal translation of another Greek and Coptic toponym (τὰ Τρία Κάστρα ta tria kastra and ⲡϣⲟⲙⲧ ⲛ̀ⲕⲁⲥⲧⲣⲟⲛ pshomt enkastron respectively, both mean "three castles"[2]) and comes from the Arabic al-ʾuqṣur (الأقصر), lit. "the palaces"[6] or "the castles" from the collective plural of qaṣr (قصر),[7] which may be a loanword from the Latin castrum "fortified camp".[8]

Luxor Temple, seen from the east bank of the Nile

Luxor was the ancient city of Thebes, the great capital of (Upper) Egypt during the New Kingdom, and the glorious city of Amun, later to become the god Amun-Ra. The city was regarded in the Ancient Egyptian texts as wꜣs.t (approximate pronunciation: "Waset"), which meant "city of the sceptre", and later in Demotic Egyptian as tꜣ jpt (conventionally pronounced as "ta ipet" and meaning "the shrine/temple", referring to the jpt-swt, the temple now know by its Arabic name, Karnak, meaning "fortified village"), which the Greeks adapted as 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 Ra 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.[9] 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.[9] Thebes played a major role in expelling the invading forces of the Hyksos from Upper Egypt, and from the time of the 18th Dynasty to the 20th Dynasty, the city had risen as the political, religious and military capital of Ancient Egypt.

The city attracted peoples such as the Babylonians, the Mitanni, the Hittites of Anatolia (modern-day Turkey), the Canaanites of Ugarit, the Phoenicians of Byblos and Tyre, the Minoans from the island of Crete.[9] A Hittite prince from Anatolia even came to marry with the widow of Tutankhamun, Ankhesenamun.[9] The political and military importance of the city, however, faded during the Late Period, with Thebes being replaced as political capital by several cities in Northern Egypt, such as Bubastis, Sais and finally Alexandria.

However, as the city of the god Amun-Ra, Thebes remained the religious capital of Egypt until the Greek period.[9] The main god of the city was Amun, who was worshipped together with his wife, the Goddess Mut, and their son Khonsu, the God of the moon. With the rise of Thebes as the foremost city of Egypt, the local god Amon rose in importance as well and became linked to the sun god Ra, thus creating the new 'king of gods' Amon-Ra. His great temple, at Karnak just north of Thebes, was the most important temple of Egypt right until the end of antiquity.

Later, the city was attacked by Assyrian emperor Assurbanipal who installed the Libyan prince on the throne, Psamtik I.[9] The city of Thebes was in ruins and fell in significance. However, Alexander the Great did arrive at the temple of Amun, where the statue of the god was transferred from Karnak during the Opet Festival, the great religious feast.[9] Thebes remained a site of spirituality up to the Christian era, and attracted numerous Christian monks in the Roman Empire who established monasteries amidst several ancient monuments including the temple of Hatshepsut, now called Deir el-Bahri ("the northern monastery").[9]

The Coptic Catholic (Alexandrian Rite) minority established on November 26, 1895 an Eparchy (Eastern Catholic Diocese) of Luqsor (Luxor) alias Thebes, on territory split off from the Apostolic Vicariate of Egypt. Its episcopal see is a St. George cathedral in Luxor.

In turn, it lost territory on August 10, 1947 to establish the Eparchy of Assiut and again on 14 September 1981 to establish Sohag.

Streets of Luxor in 2004

Luxor souq

The economy of Luxor, like that of many other Egyptian cities, is heavily dependent upon tourism. Large numbers of people also work in agriculture, particularly sugarcane. There are also many industries, such as the pottery industry used in eating and many other uses.

The local economy was hit by the Luxor massacre in 1997, in which a total of 64 people (including 59 visiting tourists) were killed, at the time the worst terrorist attack in Egypt (before the Sharm el-Sheikh terrorist attacks).[13] The massacre reduced tourist numbers for several years.[14] Following the 2011 Arab Spring, tourism to Egypt dropped significantly, again affecting local tourist markets.

To make up for shortfalls of income, many cultivate their own food. Goat's cheese, pigeons, subsidized and home-baked bread and homegrown tomatoes are commonplace among the majority of its residents.

Street market

Winter Palace Hotel

A controversial tourism development plan aims to transform Luxor into the biggest vast open-air museum. The master plan envisions new roads, five-star hotels, glitzy shops, and an IMAX theatre. The main attraction is an 11 million dollar project to unearth and restore the 2.7 kilometres (1.7 miles) long Avenue of Sphinxes that once linked Luxor and Karnak temples. The ancient processional road was built by the pharaoh Amenhotep III and took its final form under Nectanebo I in 400 BCE. Over a thousand sphinx statues lined the road now being excavated which was covered by silt, homes, mosques and churches. Excavation started around 2004.[15][16]

On 18 April 2019, the Egyptian Government announced the discovery of a previously unopened coffin in Luxor, dated back to 18th dynasty of Upper and Lower Egypt.[17][18] According to the Minister of Antiquities Khaled el Anani, it is the biggest rock-cut tomb to be unearthed in the ancient city of Thebes.[19] It is one of the largest, well-preserved tombs ever found near the ancient city of Luxor.[20] On 24 November 2018, this discovery was preceded by the finding of a well-preserved mummy of a woman inside a previously unopened coffin dating back more than 3.000 years.[21][22].

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  Station Street in Luxor
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  Street market in Luxor
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  The New Corniche in Luxor
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  Panoramic view of Luxor
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  Hot-air ballooning over the west bank
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  Luxor Temple
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  The massive First Pylon of the Luxor Temple
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  The red granite obelisk at Luxor
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  Closeup of illuminated red granite obelisk
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  The central corridor of the Luxor Temple
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  Central corridor and four colossi by night
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  Sitting Ramesses II colossus inside Luxor Temple
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  Closeup of the same colossus
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  Sitting Ramesses II colossus inside Luxor Temple at night
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  Pharaonic statue in Luxor Temple
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  Amenhotep's colonnade from the peristyle court
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  The east side of the peristyle court of Amenhotep III
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  Wall inscription at Luxor Temple
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  Roman mural in an inner chamber
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  A well-preserved sphinx at Luxor
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  Hundreds of sphinxes once lined the road to nearby Karnak
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  The Abu Haggag Mosque inside the temple
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  Islamic mosque built over pharaonic temple
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  Luxor Temple and Abu Haggag Mosque
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  Interior of Abu Haggag Mosque
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  Mosque in Mansheya Street

• List of cities and towns in Egypt
• Aswan
• Cultural tourism in Egypt
• List of megalithic sites
• Luxor massacre
• Luxor Las Vegas

• Bell, Lanny. “Luxor Temple and the Cult of the Royal ka.” Journal of Near Eastern Studies 44 (1985): 251–294.
• Bongioanni, Alessandro. Luxor and the Valley of the Kings. Vercelli, Italy: White Star Publishers, 2004.
• Brand, Peter J. “Veils, Votives and Marginalia: The Use of Sacred Space at Karnak and Luxor.” In Sacred Space and Sacred Function in Ancient Thebes. Edited by Peter F. Dorman and Betsy N. Bryan, 51–83. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007.
• El-Shahawy, Abeer, and Farid S. Atiya. Luxor Museum: The Glory of Ancient Thebes. Cairo, Egypt: Farid Atiya Press, 2005.
• Haag, Michael. Luxor Illustrated: With Aswan, Abu Simbel, and the Nile. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2009.
• Siliotti, Alberto. Luxor, Karnak, and the Theban Temples. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2002.
• Strudwick, Nigel, and Helen Strudwick. Thebes In Egypt: A Guide to the Tombs and Temples of Ancient Luxor. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1999.
• Weeks, Kent R. The Illustrated Guide to Luxor: Tombs, Temples, and Museums. Cairo, Egypt: American University in Cairo Press, 2005.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Luxor (category)

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Luxor.

• Theban Mapping Project: website devoted to the Valley of the Kings and other sites in the Theban Necropolis
• Luxor World Heritage Site in panographies - 360 degree interactive imaging
• GCatholic Copic epachy
• Kamil, Jill (November 2008). "The Development Plan for Luxor". Al-Ahram Weekly, Issue No. 921. Archived from the original on August 6, 2009.
• Luxor Temple picture gallery at Remains.se