Just 600 km from Cairo is the oldest city in Egypt, the city of the living and the dead, called Luxor. Until modern times, the city bore the name Thebes of Thebes, and the prefix “greats” was not at all random; it was the place of life and rule of the greatest pharaohs of the era.
History of the city in the past
As early as the 21st century BC Luxor became the capital of Egypt. It was located immediately on the two banks of the Nile, but the mouths of this river were not only a source of water, but also played a sacramental role in the lives of the natives. The Nile BC was called Styx and divided the city into two parts: the World of the Living and the World of the Dead. On one side of the river palaces, temples, architectural monuments, marble paths bloomed and shone, life reigned and boiled, ruled by the pharaohs, called kings, on the other side of the Nile life stopped forever and froze waiting - the World of the Dead was and is to this day in tombs and pyramids.
Luxor, Egypt - City of the Living
This beautiful city has an interesting history. In the era when Luxor made Egypt its capital, the country experienced a flourishing of architectural culture. The names of the ruling pharaohs of that period are imprinted on their tombs and monuments, among them Ramses, Seth, Tetmos, Tutankhamun, Amenophis and others. Worshiping the god Amon, they built huge tombs for themselves and their wives and after death they took with them all the most valuable: weapons, jewelry made of gold, silver, precious cameos and copper, clothes and even letters.
The world of the living in Luxor flourished, the temples rose to the sky among the laurel leaves, the alleys of the sphinxes greeted the temple guests with their stone-frozen looks, the artificial oases of greenery in the very center of the desert gave freshness, the smell of flowering orchids, emerald light. Luxurious palaces made ordinary travelers, who saw them for the first time, startle. These were huge structures, where thousands of people could simultaneously fit in, their windows were covered with textile wraps from the world's first batista, which appeared in Egypt. If foreigners heard the name of the country of Egypt - Luxor surfaced before their eyes, dotted with palaces and temples, monuments and large markets. It was a mighty city.
If you visit Luxor - Egypt of the living world - your eyes will be presented to the oldest and largest surviving temple in the country - Luxor Temple. For 2100 years it stood BC, and almost as much already stands in ours, it is twice as old as our reckoning, but its majestic columns stand without flinching, stone cats look at visitors with mysterious looks, as if they know that everyone is not will, and they will stand, guarding the peace of Amon. No less magnificent temple was erected in Karnak to the sun god Amon-Ra. The majesty and monumentality of the structure still makes architects think about how, at a time when mechanized labor was completely absent, stone blocks weighing 2 tons rose to a height of 20-30 meters.
From the world of the living to the world of the dead
Having finished his reign in the world of the living, each pharaoh left the right side of the Nile, and ended up in Luxor - Egypt of the world of the dead. On the left bank of the river lie the Tsaritsa Valley and the Valley of the Kings, where there are more than 40 tombs, where Tutmes 1, Tutmes 2, Tutmes 3, Tutankhamun, Hatshepsut, Madinet-Abu and others rested. Many tombs are deep in the rocks, only the length of the moves is from 70 meters. Such temples, to which the kings of Egypt went to eternity after death, were created for decades, decorated and turned into real sanctuaries. So that none of the contemporaries would encroach on the riches of the dead pharaohs, their tombs were protected by the curse of the gods, and everyone who would touch the gold of the kings of the past should have faced the most terrible punishment.
The world and riches of the past beckon us today. In 1979, in order to protect the monumental structures and museums of Luxor, the city was named by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. Visit the lively “open air museum” - Luxor. Egypt will not reveal itself in all its glory to those who have not seen this city. Hundreds of thousands of tourists come here every year. For most travelers visiting Egypt, Luxor (photo on the Internet - confirmation of this) is one of the main attractions.