Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis

Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis
Photo provided by www.etravelphotos.com
Thebes is located about 800 km south of the Mediterranean, on the east bank of the river Nile. The city was the capital of Egypt during part of the Eleventh Dynasty (Middle Kingdom), and most of the Eighteenth Dynasty (New Kingdom), though the administration probably remained located at Memphis for much of this. With the Nineteenth Dynasty the seat of government moved to the Delta. The archaeological remains of Thebes offer a striking testimony to Egyptian civilization at its height.

Luxor and alKarnak are the modern-day Arabic names of the towns situated at or near the sites of two important temples that stood on the outskirts of the city.

Year Decision Comments
1979 Inscribed Reasons for inscription

Reviews

stewart ayu (canada):
A visit to the Valley of the Kings and Queens is remarkable. The tombs were mesmerizing spectacles. The chambers might have once be filled with artifacts like the one of Tutankhamon fame. The hieroglyphics were stunning . some filled entire chambers. Some told stories on the ceilings or pillars. It was unlike anything anywhere. This is not a place that one can describe in words. It was very complex and otherworldly. I was much more impressed with the tombs than the great architectural achievements. Many of the artifacts found in the tombs is on display at the incomparable Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
Date posted: June 2009
Ben Pastore (USA):
Once the religious center of ancient Egypt, the Temple of Karnak was as impressive as they come. And while repeated exposure to ancient sites tends to leave one jaded to a place's importance, Luxor and its surrounds still made for a wonderful place to wander about and image the glory of the days of the Pharoahs
Date posted: April 2006
Christer Sundberg (Sweden):
You can cruise up and down the Nile in many ways. As a matter of fact it is quite an industry these days and I heard that over 600 vessels have a permit to operate on the river. Have I known better in advance, I would rather have embarked on a felucca for a couple of days even though I must admit that the luxury of the Mövenpick Nile Cruiser was quite enjoyable after all...

Working our way up the river, passing and visiting the temples of Edfu and Kom Obo my cruiser finally reached Luxor where I had decided to stay for a couple of days. I started with a visit to the valley of the Queens, which is less visited than the Kings and a better place to study the hieroglyphs and carvings in the ancient tombs. The graves of the valley of the Kings are of slightly larger proportions and despite the hordes of tourists it is quite exciting to enter the tomb of Ramses II and the other, since long gone, royalties of Egypt. I recommend you to skip Tutankhamen’s grave. It is very small and really nothing to see. The exhibition in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo on the other hand, is the place to go in this case.

The temple of Luxor and Karnak is an absolute must. If Luxor is impressing, Karnak is enormous and top of the pops when it comes to Egyptian temples and I read somewhere that over 80.000 people where working on the temple site in it’s heydays.

If you don’t want to do the full-fledged tour of Egypt, Luxor is the place to stay for a couple of days and indulge yourself in the ancient life of the pharaohs. I promise you it will be much rewarding.
Date posted: February 2006
Klaus Freisinger (Austria):
It´s hard to believe that this is the first review for Thebes, since it´s not only one of the Egypt´s, but also one of the world´s greatest archaeological sites and definitely worth a journey. Most people will combine visiting Thebes with a cruise on the Nile, and this is highly recommended - easily beats any Mediterranean or Caribbean cruise! Thebes (as the Greeks called it - it was Weset in ancient Egyptian) is the capital of Upper Egypt and was the country´s centre throughout the Middle and New Kingdoms. It was much larger in Antiquity than it is today, but seeing everything in the area still takes up a lot of time (worth it). On the east bank of the Nile, the Luxor Temple is great, but can´t be beaten by the Temple of Karnak connected to it by an avenue of sphinges, truly a wonder of the world with its huge columns and the impressive hieroglyphs. They are both in the city of Luxor, which offers many conveniences for visitors, but you have to cross the Nile to the west bank to see even more stunning attractions: the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens, the Memnon Colossi, and the Temple of Hatshepsut, all located in a beautiful desert landscape. The tombs of the pharaohs can be visited (at least some of them), and this is something nobody should miss - truly a fascinating experience.
Date posted: June 2005


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