What Is Luxor?

[George Habib]

Luxor was the ancient city of Thebes - the capital of Ancient Egypt and the great city of Amon Ra. Luxor is located in the region of Southern Egypt between latitudes 25- 36 in the North and 32-33 in the East. The city of Luxor is 670 kilometers to the South of Cairo, 220 kilometers to North of Aswan, and 280 kilometers to the West of Hurghada.

In the mildest of the tenth century AD, early Arab travelers, who admired Luxor for the numerous monuments and ruins scattered around the city, gave it its name( AL- OkSOUR ), in Arabic Luxor means "the site of the palaces".
Today the city is among the most famous and most popular tourist destinations in Egypt, one of those places that you MUST see. Therefore, all the major travel agencies have main regional travel offices in there that act as destination service offices for their tour groups. The city of Luxor has population of around 230 thousand

Luxor consists of two sections: the west bank and the East bank and they are separated by the River Nile. In ancient times, the East Bank was called the city of the living where temples, kings palaces, and where the common people live, while the West bank was called the city of the dead where the tombs and funerary temples were located.

The overall surface area of Luxor is 416 square kilometers including the desert area of the governorate. The manned area in Luxor is about 208 kilometers and it occupies 50% of the total area of Luxor

The word "Luxor" in Arabic means "the palaces" and the city gained this name because when the Arabs conquered Egypt, they found a lot of palaces and antiquities in Luxor

Luxor hosts one third of the whole monuments and antiquities of the world. Therefore, it is considered one of the most important tourism spots in Egypt and maybe in the whole world.

The most important monuments in Luxor include the Karnak temple, the Luxor temple, the Valley of the Kings, the valley of the queens, the Hatshepsut temple. Many tourists from all over the world visit Luxor to view the wonders of the Pharonic civilization.

The city of Luxor has a unique atmosphere as it is considered a huge open air museum. One can find a monument in every section in Luxor. A lot of temples, burial sites, and palaces once stood in Luxor. However, after this long period of time passing by, these sites were damaged and many of the items that were found in these sites are now located in the Luxor Museum.

[George Habib]

Thanks alot Ed and hope in one day to see you in Egypt

[Ed Wetschler]

This is my favorite place in Egypt, George. Your explanation of the city's name is interesting, too; curious that the English word "luxury," which derives from a Latin word, is also so similar to the Arabic word for "palaces."