Egypt Grand Tours

6 census, Luxor and its environs had a population of more than 450,000 people. The name Luxor “derives from the Arabic al-uksur, ‘the fortifications,’ which in turn was adapted from the Latin castrum,” which refers to a Roman fort built in the area, writes William Murnane in the "Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt" (Oxford University Press, 2001). The ancient city of Luxor served at times as Egypt’s capital and became one of its largest urban centers. “On the East Bank, beneath the modern city of Luxor, lie the remains of an ancient town that from about 1500 to 1000 B.C. was one of the most spectacular in Egypt, with a population of perhaps 50,000,” write archaeologists Kent Weeks and Nigel Hetherington in their book "The Valley of the Kings Site Management Master plan" (Theban Mapping Project, 2006). In ancient times, the city was known as home to the god Amun, a deity who became associated with Egyptian royalty. In turn, during Egypt’s “New Kingdom” period between roughly 1550-1050 B.C., most of Egypt’s rulers chose to be buried close to the city in the nearby Valley of the Kings. Other famous sites near the city, which were built or greatly expanded during the New Kingdom period, include Karnak Temple, Luxor Temple, the Valley of the Queens and Queen Hatshepsut’s mortuary temple at Deir al-Bahari.
“Of all the ancient cities, no other city reached the glory of Thebes in supremacy,” writes Egyptologist RashaSoliman in her book "Old and Middle Kingdom Theban Tombs" (Golden House Publications, 2009). “Thebes is the largest and wealthiest heritage site in the world.”
Origins
Weeks and Hetherington point out that the area of Luxor has evidence of habitation going back 250,000 years. Soliman notes that during the Old Kingdom period (roughly 2650-2150 B.C.), the time the Great Pyramids were built at Giza, the ancient city at Luxor was a provincial administration center. It would take on new importance after the Old Kingdom collapsed, a time called the “first intermediate period.” During this period, the ancient city at Luxor became the capital of a local kingdom, one that in time succeeded in uniting the country. The king who accomplished this reunification, named NebhepetreMentuhotep (who reigned about 4,000 years ago), is believed to have accomplished this feat in his 39th year of rule. Soliman notes that a mortuary temple for him was built near the city at a place called Deir al-Bahari. “The mortuary complex includes an unexcavated valley temple and a causeway 1,200 meters (4,000 feet) long,” writes Soliman. “It ended at the temple’s garden where statues of the king were placed.” The king’s tomb was located in the nearby hills and contains a passageway descending 490 feet (150 meters) into the ground. Although Mentuhotep’s successors would move their court north, away from the city, construction at Karnak Temple appears to have picked up at this time. New Kingdom renaissance
Construction near the city would flourish during Egypt’s New Kingdom period, between roughly 1550 and 1050 B.C. Most of the kings who reigned during this time chose to be buried in the nearby Valley of the Kings and a number of queens, princesses and princes were buried in the nearby Valley of the Queens. Luxor Temple, located on the east bank of the Nile River, was built to celebrate Egypt’s Opet Festival. “Most of the temple of Luxor in its present state was built by Amenhotep III (c. 1410–1372) in three phases,” writes Murnane. This temple would later be connected to Karnak through an avenue of “700 sandstone human-headed sphinxes,” writes a team of UCLA researchers working on the Digital Karnak project. This avenue ran for about two miles (3 kilometers). During the Opet festival statues of Amun, Mut (his wife), Khonsu (their son) and the king were carried between the two temples writes Egyptologist Pat Remler in her book "Egyptian Mythology, A to Z" (Chelsea House, 2010). “When the procession reached Luxor Temple it was greeted with a joyous reception by various groups of dancers, singers and musicians,” she writes. Home of Amun
While the city did serve as Egypt’s capital for parts of the New Kingdom period its use as a place for royal burials, and great temples, appears to be largely due to religious reasons. The city was considered the home of the god Amun and so close was the relationship between this god and Egyptian royalty that Egyptian queens actually credited the deity with fathering their children.
“Amun was often credited by the queens of Egypt as having fathered their children. When Queen Hatshepsut came to power, she inscribed the story of her divine birth, from the union of Amun and her mother Queen Ahmose, on the wall of her mortuary temple at Deir al-Bahri (near the city),” writes Remler in her book.