The day begins with a tour to the Luxor Museum which was opened in 1975 by the late President Anwar Sadat and it was further developed in 1984 with the addition of new and different exhibition halls.
Upon arriving there, you find glass gates through which you pass and upon entering, you find that the museum consists of two floors.
The first floor contains many artifacts of different sizes and types dating back to some ancient eras and well-known
historically, while the second floor contains halls offering additional distinctive panoramic displays focused on carefully selected artifacts, golden statues and other very important treasures.
and different successive ancient eras that marked Egypt’s long rule, numbering approximately 400 artifacts distributed in an organized fashion throughout the galleries.
The museum also contains some
made of gold and other valuable materials and the most prominent of these artifacts permanently displayed in the Luxor Museum.
Located on the second floor of the Luxor Museum is the Akhenaten Hall which reflects the splendor of architectural art and the artistic changes during the controversial Amarna period in Egyptian history.
The hall contains a collection of statues and inscribed stone blocks known as Talatat and these inscriptions highlight religious rituals and daily customs during the reign of this king.
There is also a collection of Coptic funerary stelae from later different periods, along with some pottery and amulets and the hall also includes pieces that illustrate the new and completely different religious aspect of
We continue our tour after the enjoyable visit to Luxor Museum by proceeding to the most famous
ancient Egyptian temple complex, Karnak Temple which consists of a very huge collection of temples, edifices and chapels extending over a vast, sprawling area.
This temple complex was primarily and continuously built for the worship of the sacred Theban triad,
namely the god Amun-Ra, his consort Mut and their son Khonsu.
Upon arriving at the temple, at the beginning of the first pylon, you find a series of statues lined up next to each other forming the famous Avenue of Sphinxes, shaped with the body of a lion and the head of a ram, symbolizing the god Amun-Ra.
As you pass through the temple entrance, you find two huge towering pylons, a southern and a northern one and behind the southern pylon, you can see remnants of mud-brick construction materials used for creating ramps to ascend the pylon in ancient times.
Then, you reach the first large open courtyard which was designated for major religious celebrations and annual festivals and on the northern side of this courtyard.
There are three barque shrines which were places for keeping the sacred and decorated boats, including the barque of Amun-Ra, the barque of his wife Mut and the barque of their son Khonsu.
On the southern side, you find the temple of
King Ramesses III, specifically built for the god Amun and its walls feature reliefs depicting the king holding enemies and punishing them before the god Amun-Ra and at the end of the courtyard.
we find the imposing second pylon which features a statue of
King Ramesses II and his beloved wife Nefertari.
Upon reaching the imposing Great Hypostyle Hall, you first notice the very high ceiling which is dazzling to beholders and the abundance of huge columns spread everywhere throughout the space.
The temple, in its deep inner parts, contains a place intended to protect the statue dedicated to the god, known as the Holy of Holies which is the most sacred place within the temple complex.
You also see the magnificent Great Hypostyle Hall itself, consisting of 134 columns of different sizes with varied capitals and wonderful inscriptions and after that, you see the third pylon, although its structure appears partially ruined by time.
Between the third and fourth pylons, there is a somewhat narrow courtyard containing four standing and broken obelisks, while between the fourth and fifth pylons stands the tall, erect obelisk of Queen Hatshepsut, made of hard pink granite.
Lunch break with a view of the Nile river
Enjoy a wonderful and relaxing lunch break during and after concluding your intensive
tour of the important historical temples and museums and this lunch break is not limited to just the meal itself but is more than that.
It represents an opportunity to enjoy an authentic local cultural experience rich in flavors, where you can take sufficient time to relax and restore your energy and vitality, in addition to eating delicious and varied foods and hot and cold drinks at one of the restaurants directly overlooking
the Nile River.
Evening tour among funerary treasures and royal mummies
The day ends with an additional wonderful and very special evening
tour to learn about the funerary treasures and royal mummies in the museum, especially within the Hall of Military Glory designated for this purpose.
This hall houses some important mummies, most notably those of King Ramesses I and
Ahmose I, with currently only two displayed to the public, preserved with extreme care.
Both are displayed with their heads and bodies partially uncovered, to maintain them in a suitable and controlled display environment and one of them, the famous mummy of Ahmose, dates back to the Eighteenth Dynasty.
As for the mummy of Ramesses I, it was previously abroad, located in the Niagara Falls Museum, then purchased by the Michael C. Carlos Museum in America which subsequently returned it to
Luxor Museum to rest near his heroic grandson.
Luxor Museum also contains important recently discovered treasures belonging to a high-ranking official named Amenhotep Huy; his non-royal tomb includes a funerary collection, some amulets, golden coffins and a stela shaped like a fish.
There are also funerary stelae from the Coptic era and various interesting Pharaonic funerary furniture appealing to researchers and visitors alike.
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