Luxor Temple is located in the heart of the city and was built in 1392 BCE. It is connected to Karnak Temple by the Avenue of Sphinxes, a road approximately 3 kilometers long with 600 sphinxes. Luxor Temple is divided into two parts, constructed by Amenhotep III and Ramses II. In front of the first pylon, there used to be two obelisks, but now only one remains. The right obelisk was gifted by Muhammad Ali to Louis-Philippe, the French king, in 1834. It now adorns Place de la Concorde in Paris in exchange for the clock tower in Muhammad Ali Mosque in Cairo.
The left obelisk stands 25 meters tall. At its base are four statues of baboons raising their hands to salute the sun god and the sunrise. The relief on the pylon depicts Ramses II in his chariot. The main entrance leads to the forecourt of Ramses II's temple.
To the left above the temple is the Abu Haggag Mosque from the Fatimid era (996). The forecourt features a row of double columns and some colossal statues of the king.
At the entrance to Amenhotep III's original temple, two seated statues of Ramses II guard the temple complex. The side reliefs depict the Nile god in the center. At the bottom of the reliefs, you can see Asian and African war prisoners.
Statue of Tutankhamun and His Wife
The colonnade of Amenhotep III was decorated by Tutankhamun. The journey of the god Amun from Karnak to Luxor Temple is depicted on the western wall.
On the left and right of the passageway, there are still alabaster statues of the young pharaoh Tutankhamun.
The Hypostyle Hall of the Temple
Next, we find the hypostyle hall adorned with beautiful lotus flower capitals. The columns had cartouches with the name of the god Amun, which were defaced by the heretic king Akhenaten.
Behind the hypostyle hall is a hall with two Byzantine columns. There are frescoes on the building belonging to the church that Roman emperors built near the temple.
The offering room contains four columns. The building features a depiction of Amenhotep III offering to the god Amun. The birth room is located to the left behind the offering room.
In the sanctuary, there is a resting place for the sacred barque of Alexander the Great, whose image is on the outer wall. The depiction shows Alexander the Great offering to the god Amun-Min (the god of sexuality and fertility) and burning incense.
