Luxor Temple on the west bank of the Nile River is absolutely incredible, nearly 4,000 years old and still in rather impressive condition (thanks in part to how dry it is here). Its statuary and columns and hieroglyphics are almost beyond belief. This temple was the heart of the Kingdom for centuries, linked to nearby (even larger...) Karnak Temple by a mile-long Avenue of the Sphinxes (see photo below). We visited here in the late afternoon (with some crowds of tourists, to be sure) and stayed as darkness fell and the sense of ancient magic only intensified.
Janet basking in the presence of the Pharaoh who built this portion of the Luxor Temple.
Fantastic ancient images are everywhere...
Here's Janet at night, in one of the main plazas of this enormous temple.
Those of you who have been to Paris recognize this obelisk. The temple originally had two, one on each side of the main entrance. Napoleon stole one of them and installed it on the Place de la Concorde.
Here's the remaining obelisk at night. Imagine how great the temple entrance looked with two of them!
The moon still enhances the imagery of an Egyptian temple obelisk.
Here's David at the start of the Avenue of the Sphinxes, which originally ran all the way to Karnak Temple. They are still unearthing more and more statues along this ancient route.
Hieroglyph carvings are everywhere, literally. We took dozens of photos of different carvings. The bird gods here are named Horus and Isis.
More carvings, each one with a special meaning finally understood after archaeologists found the Rosetta (we saw the original in the Cairo museum).
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