The Egyptians say "If you didn't see Luxor, you didn't see Egypt". And they are quite right! Luxor is a small town but at the same time it's one of the world's greatest open air museums. It comes to life when lots of tourists arrive to enjoy historic attractions in Luxor - the most fascinating and interesting place in Egypt.
Luxor is situated in the area of Upper (Southern) Egypt. Many centuries ago, during the Middle and New Kingdoms, here was the grandiose capital of the country - the Thebes. Now the area of Luxor consists of three parts. Firstly, the modern City of Luxor on the East side of the Nile; secondly, the town of Karnak just north of Luxor and thirdly, Thebes, which the ancient Egyptians called Waset, which is on the west side of the Nile across from Luxor.
Speaking about historic attractions in Luxor, we can say that today Luxor is famous for its temples and the nearby Valley of the Kings.
In Luxor proper on the East Bank, one of your first stops must be the Temple of Luxor built by Amenophis III. Luxor Temple, separated from the river bank by the corniche, was modified over many centuries. Its main pylons, or gates, are on the northern end. In front of them is one obelisk; the second was given to France and taken to Paris where it was erected in Place de la Concorde on October, 25 1836.
The most famous of all historic attractions in Luxor is the Valley of the Kings on the West Bank of the Nile. Although modern paths of the Valley of the Kings detract a little from its atmosphere, you still can feel the link to the ancient Egypt - especially when the most of tourists have left earlier in the day.
Tomb of Tutankhamun is one in the Valley of the Kings which everyone wants to visit. There is no such event in the history of archeology that could be more important than discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in the Valley of the Kings made by Howard Carter in 1922. Although the robbers got into the funeral camera even in ancient times, the tomb was found unthieved and scientists found there a glut of treasures, a lot of items of Old Egyptian use and a mummy in a very good condition. When you visit it, you can appreciate how small the area that contained the riches was. The gifts and the riches from Tomb of Tutankhamun you can see partly on show at the Museum in Luxor and at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
About halfway between Luxor and Karnak temples is located the Luxor Museum - one of the best in Egypt. As you guessed, the second world-known place in Egypt is Karnak complex of temples. It's situated at the northern end of town. Karnak complex of temples was built over a span of about 1500 years. It is famous for its main Hypostyle Hall with 134 massive columns. Fully about Karnak you can know from article "The Time Machine: trip to Luxor".
Historic attractions in Luxor attract ample quantity of tourists all over the world. Here you will feel the antiquity of Egyptian earth and as if revive ancient traditions and legends. After all, almost under every building of town there are foundations of very old temples, alleys of sphinxes, fragments of statues. Visit Luxor and you can feel the spirit of the greatest archeological discoveries!