Explore Luxor Temple
A guided tour
Welcome to Luxor Temple, the oldest temple in the world that has been a place of continuous worship for over 3,400 years.
In ancient Egyptian, this place was known as ipet resyt, the southern sanctuary. If at any point in the tour, you have a question, click the icon at the bottom right to ask it.
We’re on the east bank of the Nile River in Egypt. Behind us, a processional road lined with sphinxes leads to Karnak Temple in the distance.
The pharaoh, Amenhotep III, started building the temple around 1400 BCE around a shrine built by Queen Hatshepsut before him.
After, the pharaoh Ramesses II enlarged the temple and built the monumental gate (also called a pylon) that you see in front of you with scenes of him in chariots.
First we see this giant obelisk.
There were originally two pink granite obelisks and six large statues of Ramesses II at this main entrance, but in 1835, the French government took one obelisk to Paris, where it still remains today.
There are four baboons carved into the obelisk’s pedestal.
They are dancing to greet the morning sun. Above, on the obelisk, the carvings are the names and honors of Ramesses II.
Luxor Temple was dedicated to the god Amun, his wife Mut, and their son, Khonsu. Each year the Egyptians celebrated the Opet Festival, which centered on the ritual renewal of divine kingship.
During the Opet Festival, a ceremonial boat was used to transported the gods along the Avenue of the Sphinxes from the temple of Karnak Temple to the temple of Luxor Temple, and the procession progressed along the Avenue of the Sphinxes. The procession included music, dancing, and a great ceremony.
Here, Ramesses II is seated on depictions of the upper and lower Nile, symbolizing his authority over Egypt.
Luxor Temple is built completely from Nubian sandstone from southern Egypt and its scenes were originally painted in bright colors.
This first courtyard of the temple was decorated with large statues of Ramesses.
The walls were carved and painted with scenes of Ramesses II's military victories and with images of gods and goddesses.
Ramesses created this holy sanctuary at the front of his additions. Here we find a shrine for the god Amun.
On this wall, Ramesses is depicted offering incense to the god Min. Behind Min is the symbol of Egyptian lettuce, a sign of fertility.
After the spread of Islam, a mosque was built here when temple was filled with sand. Once the sand had been excavated, the door of the mosque was left 23 feet above the floor level.
These two figures were originally depictions of Tutankhamun, but their names have been altered to say Ramesses II.
This sort of reappropriation and reuse was common in ancient Egypt.
On the pedestal are depictions of the conquered people, in this case it is showing Assyrian people who are bound and in subjection.
This enormous colonnade hall and everything we’ll see from here on was created by Amenhotep III.
There are two parallel rows of columns, with seven columns in each row. Perhaps this symbolized the length of the festival.
These column capitals depict open papyrus. It makes an interesting contrast with other columns we’ll see, where the capitals depict papyrus that is not blooming.
It’s been possible to reassemble fragments of the stones of Luxor Temple to understand more about the Opet Festival. The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and the University of Chicago are currently conducting research to preserve and reconstruct these scenes.
On the walls behind the columns there are carvings of festival scenes depicting the Opet Festival and religious rituals.
Archaeologists have learned more about the annual Opet Festival by studying these carvings.
This is the Sun Court of Amenhotep III. A sun court was used for the ritual of the royal jubilee, a celebration of the king's rule. It took place every 30 years and involved the king renewing his commitment to the gods.
The reliefs on these walls depict Amenhotep III and his wife Tiy making offerings to the gods.
A cache of statues was found buried under the floor here. These statues are now exhibited in the Luxor Museum.
Amenhotep III was the ruler of Egypt who lived from about 1390-1352 BCE. He built everything from this section of the temple forward.
The Opet festival lasted for several days and involved feasting, music, and dancing. The Luxor Temple was an important part of ancient Egyptian culture and continues to be a popular tourist destination today.
The Opet Festival procession brought the boats here, one to the left and one to the right of the doorway. The festival was a time when the people of Egypt would come to the temple to celebrate the king's rule.
Romans also used the temple as a fort. Some of the Roman painting remains. There is a room where the emperor ruled symbolically.
The Roman Emperor’s throne was here. Above, the emperor Diocletian and his three co-regents are depicted. Emperor Diocletian ruled from 284-305 CE. He was the last emperor of the united Roman Empire.
Over the ancient scenes, you can see remnants of Roman murals. The Romans plastered over the wall and painted their own images.
One of the most interesting things about Luxor Temple is how the space has evolved. The Luxor Temple was continually a place of pilgrimage where visitors could come and renew their connection to the divine.
The offering hall would have been used for ceremonies and sacrifices. Throughout the offering hall, you can view scenes of the pharaoh making offerings to the gods.
In this scene, for instance, the pharaoh is making barbeque offerings to the god Amun.
The University of Chicago is studying the walls of the offering hall to better understand the ancient Egyptians that lived and occupied the temple. They are drawing the reliefs to make the visualizations you see here.
The scenes depicted on the walls were meant to embody the rituals performed at the temple. In case they ever weren’t properly enacted, the carvings would suffice as a replacement and ensure the renewal of the kingship.
The inner sanctuary of the temple was a private area where the most sacred rituals were performed. Only the high priest and the pharaoh were allowed inside.
This inner chamber is a later addition. Included is a depiction of Alexander the Great, who conquered Egypt in 332 BCE. Alexander never made it to Luxor, but he was carved in the temple after being crowned as ruler.
If you want, you can turn on the lights by visiting Luxor Temple at night. It'll open in a new window. To go back, navigate back to this window.
This room is called the room of Divine Birth. It includes scenes of Amenhotep’s divine birth as the son of the god Amun.
Here, the Pharaoh was ceremonially re-crowned each year, establishing him as the link between the gods and the nation of Egypt. The room has paintings of the gods Isis and Horus on the walls.
Behind the inner sanctuary are the royal apartments. These were used by the royal family when they came to visit the temple. The royal apartments were also used as a place for the king to rest and prepare for ritual ceremonies.
This is the Amenhotep III Holy of Holies. It is a small room that would have been used for private rituals. The walls are covered in hieroglyphs that spell out the king's name and titles. This room would have been a very special and sacred space for the king.
These are an example of a hypostyle building, meaning the the roof was supported by several rows of columns.
This is only an introduction to millennia of history of the temple and the stories on its walls. The whole temple is like one gigantic book that you can read over and over.
To continue, switch to Free Explore mode to go to the open air block museum or return to anywhere else that you like. And thanks for visiting!
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