Monument Hopping in Luxor, Pt. 2: The Theban Necropolis

On the West Bank of the Nile, opposite the city of Luxor, stands a collection of Ancient Egyptian ruins too vast to see in a lifetime. We spent one day there.

Shaina and I on the steps of the Temple of Hatshepsut

Check out Part 1 when you’re done here.

Monument Hopping in Luxor Part 1: The East Bank

Out of any city in Egypt, Luxor has the largest concentration of ancient temples and tombs — so many that you really couldn’t see them all in one visit. If you tried, you’d get pretty bored by the end, because (as profoundly beautiful as they are) there’s a certain sameness that comes clear after one has seen three or four of them. The city of Luxor itself — once known as Thebes, the capitol city of Ancient Egypt — is on the East Bank of the Nile, with restaurants and hotels and stores and slums much like any other city in Northern Africa. Right by the river, running nearly the length of the city, is a complex of ancient temples with The Temple of Luxor one end and The Temple City of Karnak at the other, the two connected by The Avenue of Sphinxes. I already wrote…