...
On 20th December 2003 Egypt Air took us from Frankfurt/Main directly to Luxor in Upper Egypt where we landed at 1 am the following morning due to a delay at departure, when we finally hit the hay it was 2 am! The view from the balcony of our hotel room some hours later rewarded us for the ... Read review
Framed 20x16 Print (51x40cm) Black Grain Bevel with White Mount. The Valley of the Kings, ... more
Luxor, Egypt, 20th century. The location of tombs of the kings and powerful nobles of the New Kingdom (the Eighteenth through Twentieth Dynasties of Ancient Egypt). Unknown (creator), Luxor Luxor, As Said, Egypt
Information: :Usually dispatched within 4-5 business days...
NH Hotels, the hotel chain leader in Europe, with more than 300 hotels in 20 countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa. Enter into our web site and find the best available tariff at all times
...us from Frankfurt/Main directly to Luxor in Upper Egypt where we landed at 1 am the following morning due to a delay at departure, when we finally hit the hay it was 2 am! The view from the balcony of our hotel room some hours later rewarded us for the trouble: after winter-grey Germany eye-hurting, bright sunshine, palm trees on the bank of the Nile, cruisers and feluccas - Egyptian sailing-boats - on the glittering river!
Why do ... ...taken to the temple of Luxor 3 km away through an alleyway flanked by rows of sphinxes with the bodies of lions and the heads of rams - a short stretch of which can still be seen in Karnak. Simple folks were not allowed to enter the temples proper, the first forecourt was the farthest they could get.
According to our Egyptian guide the site of the temple mirrored the area around Karnak, the main axis being the Nile, the columns, smaller ... more
After 28 years my husband and I decided to revisit Egypt, not that we expected the millennia-old monuments to look any different, but the first visit had impressed us so much that we thought we´d enjoy a second visit.
On 20th December 2003 Egypt Air took us from Frankfurt/Main directly to Luxor in Upper Egypt where we landed at 1 am the following morning due to a delay at departure, when we finally hit the hay it was 2 am! The view from the balcony of our hotel room some hours later rewarded us for the trouble: after winter-grey Germany eye-hurting, bright sunshine, palm trees on the bank of the Nile, cruisers and feluccas - Egyptian sailing-boats - on the glittering river!
Why do tourists go to Luxor? The remains of the biggest temple humankind has ever constructed are there, in Karnak to be precise, now a part of the city, in ancient times a separate village. Do you associate Greece when you think of temples? Forget it, the Egyptians ´invented´ them and the Greeks learnt to built them when they ruled Egypt.
The temple in Karnak was begun approximately 4 000 years ago and completed over a period of nearly 2 000 years, every successive king added to it. The pharaohs/kings were ´the rulers of everything the sun embraces´ as an inscription on a wall tells us. The pharaoh was the middleman between the Egyptians and their gods, the highest priest and head of state. He honoured the gods by building temples and offering sacrifices, as a countermove the gods preserved the physical world and all that lived in it, ´tit for tat´ so-to-speak! Throughout the year festivities were celebrated in honour of the god Amun-Re, his wife Mut and their son Chon, during the most famous, the Opet festival, their statues were taken to the temple of Luxor 3 km away through an alleyway flanked by rows of sphinxes with the bodies of lions and the heads of rams - a short stretch of which can still be seen in Karnak. Simple folks were not allowed to enter the temples proper, the first forecourt was the farthest they could get.
According to our Egyptian guide the site of the temple mirrored the area around Karnak, the main axis being the Nile, the columns, smaller temples, courtyards, the houses for the priests and the huts for the servants (up to 80 000 people are said to have lived and worked there) the flora and architecture on the fertile banks, the surrounding sand the desert and the brick wall enclosing the whole site the mountain range. I hadn´t heard this theory before, but found it convincing.
On the main axis 10 pylons stand at a right angle partitioning the temple into different sections; a pylon is a gate flanked by two enormous towers made of sandstone, the first pylon measures 113m (370f) in breadth and 43m (141f) in height. It is the ´youngest´, the oldest parts of the temple are at the end of the 500m (1640f) long axis. The pylons are hollow and their outer walls are covered with reliefs of the pharaohs´ achievements, mostly battle scenes, of course.
How was it possible to erect such enormous structures before the invention of the wheel and the pulley? When we walk through the first pylon we see the remains of a ramp made of clay bricks at its inner side, the blocks of stones were rolled up on timber logs (the same technique was used to build the pyramids).
After crossing the courtyard we come to the largest room of any religious building in the world, the part of the temple which impresses me most: the hall of columns, a forest really, 134 all in all, standing in 16 rows each with a circumference of 10m (32f), the smaller ones were covered by a roof which doesn´t exist any more, only some slabs of stone have remained, pity, so we can´t imagine what the atmosphere was like. I don´t know if these figures impress you, the real thing is absolutely breathtaking. The columns are so gigantic that looking up I lost my cap, I had to crane my neck so much. They´re covered with depictions of pharaohs and hieroglyphs describing their deeds, carved doubly deep to prevent later rulers from re-carving the columns with their own stories. The figures don´t have faces, though, we only see a chiselled off surface, the reason being that the ancient Egyptians believed in resurrection and each new pharaoh who didn´t agree with his predecessor had the latter´s face destroyed to prevent him from being resurrected. We noticed the same phenomenon in all the temples we visited.
The prevailing colour of the temple is yellow grey, just like the surrounding sand, a fitting colour you may think, but a wrong one, the ancient temples were brightly coloured. Remains can be seen at the capitals (which resemble open and closed papyrus blossoms) and the remains of the roof where plants and animals are depicted. Just imagine, paint thousands of years old!
Not only is the dry climate favourable for the preservation of the temples, many were covered by sand and rubble for centuries and dug out only in the 1870s. By whom? High up French names are chiselled into the stone, the names of archaeologist coming with the Napoleonic army, it is obviously an inherent desire of our species to tell the world that we´ve been places!
When a new religion is to be established, it´s wise to use the sites people have got used to for worship. I remembered that the temple of Karnak contains an example of this policy and couldn´t await to see it again, it´s so funny (in my opinion): nearly at the end of the axis, near the holiest part, is a slab of stone with originally three upright figures of pharaohs, the Christians (Christianity in Egypt dates back to the first century AD), too lazy to start from scratch, left the figure in the middle intact and cut off the figures on the right and on the left from the chest downwards so that the whole sculpture resembles a cross. Clever, eh?
In the evening when it was dark, we went to the floodlit temple in Luxor, also of awesome dimensions. We were a bit sceptical and expected something kitschy, but it was simply beautiful; our guide who has been doing his job for 18 years looked at it and was enraptured! This temple was also covered in rubble and sand, only if one knows this one can understand why the entrance to a mosque (!) is 8m (26f) above ground.
We went back to our hotel on the promenade along the Nile feeling that the breath of history had touched us and looking forward to the following day which we wanted to spend in the Valley of the Kings.
Advantages: The Peace and Quiet Disadvantages: Having to come back home
...private island, 4 km from Luxor surrounded by the beautiful and clear River Nile. Prices at Portland Direct for the same two weeks Bed and Breakfast in May 2006 are £389 per adult and £327 for first child. Movenpick was founded in 1948 and employs 13,600 people around the world, it is a Swiss Hotel chain with 53 hotels in nineteen countries. The one we are going to was built in the early eighties.
The flight was on time and we landed 4hrs 45mins ... ...different Hotels around and in Luxor so we arrived 1hr 10 minutes later. While driving through Luxor you can spot quite a few Police and Army sentry points strategically placed and scattered all around the city quite comforting really as they are there mainly for us tourists. After dropping off all but seven of us we headed 4 km out of the city towards Crocodile Island we turned right from the main road and stopped at a checkpoint and within seconds ...
yampy-uk 06.01.2006 (07.01.2006)
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Luxor (Egypt)
Advantages: Independent travel Disadvantages: No tour guide descriptions
...to recommend anyone travelling to Luxor to arrange themselves a trip around the Luxor West Bank using a local Luxor taxi. I have visited Egypt on 3 occasions now as a backpacker and the taxi trip to the west bank has always been one of the highlights for me. You really get to travel around not only at your leisure but in the company of a real local resident making himself a proper living. Your money will not be going to a tour company, it will be ... ...bridge to the south of Luxor and firstly stop at the ticket booth area. Tickets to all the West Bank attractions are bought at the same place. The driver will then take you to all of your choices and wait for you in the taxi rank at each spot.
A quick note on West bank tickets. Like I said above, tickets to all West bank sites are bought at the same place which is on a junction spot just past the Colossi on Memnon . There are some intricacies to ...
Jimbo583 12.08.2006 (16.08.2006)
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Luxor (Egypt)
Advantages: Hot Weather, History Disadvantages: Hassle
...mum and I went to Luxor at the beginning of this year after getting a really good deal, we paid just over £300 for 7 nights half board accommodation with Cosmos staying at the St Joseph’s hotel. I have broken this review into sections and please bear in mind that is based only on my experiences. Anything that I have not covered please feel free to ask about and I will attempt to answer.
HISTORY
*********
As you are aware Egypt is full of ... ...Pyramids if you go to Luxor you will not see any Pyramids. However, most tour operators do organise trips to see the Pyramids as well as most of the sites which I mention below. A word of advice, before committing yourself to booking with your tour operator take time to go down towards the Old Winter Palace where you will find quite a few local tour operator’s who undercut the big tour operators quite substantially. For example a ½ day trip ...
SMAGGS76 05.08.2002
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Luxor (Egypt)
Advantages: Experience of a Lifetime Disadvantages: Heat, Dust and Flies
Luxor is a must to visit if you enjoy sight-seeing holidays, also if you have any interest in Egyptology, this is the place for you. In order to visit such a beautiful country you will require a Visa, purchased from the Egyptian embassy in London. You will need to send your passport to London and they will send you your passport via the post stamped and ready to go, for around £10 to £20 quid. (It was in 1999 when I visited, prices may have changed)
... ...very quickly, and enjoy what Luxor has to offer.
The majority of hotels are close together. with in walking distance of one another, they are clean and airy, friendly staff are eager to help and are very pleasent. I wondered if this was to ensure that they got a bashees,(tip) when your stay was over.
I stayed at the Winter Palace Hotel which over looks the Nile. This hotel I would give a five star rating to, for its cleanliness and service. As ...
lunamat 09.08.2003
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Luxor (Egypt)
Advantages: Good base for the must- see sights Disadvantages: Constant hassle from the locals
...husband and I went to Luxor for our honeymoon. We chose it as it was so central to the majority of the must-see sights that Egypt is famous for.
Luxor is really a one street town. This street runs the length of the town and most of the major hotels are situated on it. The Sheraton at one end, the Hilton at the other.
We stayed in the Hilton. This is at the very end of the road and a 5 minute bus journey from the center of town. First piece of advise: ... ...being stuck out in the Luxor sun, we learned the hard way!
We went with Thomas Cook and booked our excursions with them. This was a good move as there aren't really any shops that you can go in and book excursions. If your hotel offers this, best to take them up on it. The essential trips are: West Bank, Karnak [both during the day and at night], Cairo and the Banquet night. Things like the Luxor Museum and Luxor Temple you can comfortable do on ...
ajohnston 02.09.2002
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Luxor (Egypt)
Value for Money
Shopping
Nightlife
Ease of getting around
Family Friendly
Similar reviews »
Reviews which might be of interest for "Luxor (Egypt)"
Advantages: Clean and helpful staff Disadvantages: None for us- it got us whre we wanted to be
Luxor airport
On a recent visit to Luxor, we transferred from cairo to Luxor airport. This is the main airport serving visitors to The valley of the kings, and was upgraded in 2005 to accommodate the growing number of passengers, and can now take on up to 8 million passengers a year.
WHERE IS IT?
It is situated 4 miles east of Luxor city itself (Al Uqsur) and close to both Al Bayadiyah and El-dabiya. an entry and is currently Egypt's fourth-biggest airport.
FACILITIES...
There are 48 check-in desks, 8 gates, 5 baggage claim belts, a post office, a bank, a Bureau de Change, an auto exchange machine restaurants, cafeterias, a VIP Lounge, a duty free shop, a newsagent/tobacconist, a chemist shop, a gift shop, a travel agent, a tourist help desk, car rental, first aid, a baby/parent Room, disabled access ...
Advantages: You didn't have pay a fortune if you didn't want to. Disadvantages: the only let down was the kids club.
This was our first trip to Egypt and so we chose the Maritim Jolie Ville Luxor Resort Kings Island Luxor ? Egypt which is not you?re typical 5* hotel but maybe on a par with a 3* premier inn but a premier inn set in paradise, ok the rooms were not the ritz. I have stayed in worse in this country and paid more. The setting of the sun each night was amazing, to sit there and watch it with a drink and some classical music in the background was a dream come true. Ok, I also was in the D block the same as a previous review stated and I also see the paper on the ground but saying that we had no trouble with blockages in fact the lady that cleaned our room was very good and thorough. The lady typified the whole complex every time you see her or any of the staff they always acknowledged you and said hello, I said once and ill say it again I ...
Advantages: Grea views, clean, close to centre and sights Disadvantages: Not a lot of entertainment
tennis table which is free of charge as well as a book borrowing/swapping library. On the way to the pool below the terraces there is a giant chess board although I didn?t see anyone playing chess.
ADDRESS AND CONTACT DETAILS...
Khaled Ebn El Waleed St.
LuxorEgypt
Tel.: + 20 - 95 - 238 09 25
Fax: +20 - 95 - 238 09 72
Email: reservation@iberotelluxor.com
VERDICT...
We had a very enjoyable stay in luxor. The hotel is clean and comfortable and serves good food and plenty of it, with not a case of poorly stomach amongst us. The staff are friendly and helpful and all areas including the entrance toilets and pool toilets were kept consistently clean.
At the entrance to the hotel there were security guards and guests had to go through a scanner so we felt more than safe being there, even when himself had to fly back to ...
