Luxor Temple
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Luxor Temple Facts
One of the largest and most magical outdoor museums in the world, the Luxor Temple, can be found inside the ancient city of “Thebes,” which is the epitome of grace and wonder. The temple was constructed about 1400 BCE during the New Kingdom of Egypt under Amenhotep III of the 18th dynasty (1390–1352 BC), and it was finished by Tutankhamun (1336–1327 BC) and Horemheb (1323–1295 BC). The name of the temple, ipet reset, which means “The Southern Sanctuary,” was given to it. King Ramses II also had it enlarged and expanded (1279-1213 BC).
The political and religious components of Thebes were centered upon the Luxor Temple. The temple was the site of the yearly Opet Festival, which highlights the idea of rebirth by moving the three statues of Amun, Mut, and Khonsu from the Karnak Temple to the Luxor Temple. It was devoted to the God Amun of the Theban Triad along with Mut and Khonsu. The temple’s stature erodes through time, although Alexander the Great once restored it to Amenhotep’s heyday in 320 BC when it became the seat of the Roman emperor cult.
Luxor Temple History
Luxor temple is one of the most visited landmarks in Egypt, which you can do when you visit Egypt due to its excellent preserved condition and intact beautiful carvings and the rare phenomenon of having only two pharaohs leaving a significant mark on its architectural structure. The temple contains several pylons that can reach 70 yards long. The entrance of the temple is in the north and is lined by a Sacred Way Known as the Avenue of Sphinxes.
The temple has a peristyle courtyard from Amenhotep that has the best-preserved columns on its eastern side and 32 columns on its southern side that connect to the inner sanctums, which the Romans used as a chapel. Amenhotep III’s birth shrine and Alexander’s barque shrine for Amun are both located in the Luxor Temple. Ramses II built a pylon with two towers that stand 24 meters high and 65 meters wide and are painted with scenes from his military campaigns and triumph at the Battle of Kadesh.
