Luxor Temple:
Luxor Temple is a large Ancient Egyptian temple complex situated on the east bank of the River Nile in the town today known as Luxor. Also several festivals were celebrated in Thebes. The Temple was the center most important of the festival of Opet. Built largely by Amenhotep III and Ramesses II, it appears that the temple's purpose was for a suitable setting for the rituals of the festival.

The festival itself was to reconcile the human aspect of the ruler with the divine office.

However most of the Luxor Temple dates to the New Kingdom period of Egyptian history. In that time Ramses II built the pylon, 2 obelisks, and 6 statues of himself. The sphinxes along the “Avenue of Sphinxes” were built by Nectanebo I, and replaced the ram headed sphinxes built by Amenhotep III. The avenue stretched from the Luxor Temple to the Karnak Temple for a distance of 2 miles.

• During the Christian era, the inner section was converted to a church. The Muslims built a Mosque in the 10th century, which is known as the Mosque of Abou El-Hagag.
• During the Roman occupation of Egypt, Luxor Temple was surrounded by a vast military encampment which may have housed around of 1500 men. In that time the Luxor temple would have ceased to have a religious function and it is likely that several blocks from the outer temple buildings were used to supplement the mudbricks of the Roman barracks. However the remains of stone pillars and avenues can still be seen all around the temple enclosure.

How to get there: Luxor Temple is located on Corniche in the central part of the city, opposite the ferry dock. Winter opening hours are usually 7.00am to 9.00pm. Also, in the evening the temple is floodlit and many of the reliefs which are indistinct during the day can be clearly seen.

Other Attractions:
• Karnak Temple
• Temple of Esna
• Luxor Temple
• Temple of Mut
• Temple of The Ramesseum