May I introduce you to Amun, local god in Thebes since at least the Old Kingdom of Egypt. Over the centuries he became more and more popular until he dethroned Montu as patron god, establishing the Triad of Thebes: Amun, his wife Mut and their son Khonsu. After the confusions and turmoils of the Second Intermediate, when Theban ruler Ahmose (Does the name sound familiar?) threw out the Asiatic Hyksos from the Delta, Egypt was united again and Thebes became the capital of the New Kingdom of both lands of the Nile. And its patron deity Amun fused with the Sund God Ra and thus became Amun-Ra, chief deity of the Egyptian pantheon, even the self-created creator deity. Through the interpretatio graecia and romana, he became associated with Zeus-Ammon and Jupiter Optimus Maximus and worshipped outside the Egypt.

Time travel

With the advent of Amun-Ra and the 18th Dynasty came the great times of the Egyptian Empire with legendary kings and queens like Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Thutmose IV, Amenhotep III, Akenathen, Nefertiti, Tutankhamun, Seti I and Ramses II. And with the these great Pharaos came the century-long building project of Karnak - a temple to the glory of Amun-Ra and his divine family. Every Pharao was obliged to ad to the huge temple complex and outshine his predecessors with lavish monuments like hypostyle halls, obelisks, chapels and monumental statues. 

A miles-long alley of Sphinxes leads the way to the Temple of Luxor, another huge complex. This temple is not dedicated to any god, but to the rejuvenation of the king. It played a most important part in the annual Opet-Festival, where the cult statues of Amun and his wife Mut where paraded in huge sun barges to the Luxor complex to undergo marriage ceremonies where the pharao took part and became reborn thus reinvigorated with divine energy.

Temple of Luxor Whereas the East of the Nile belongs to the living, the West - like everywhere in Egypt - belongs to the dead.

There were no cities or major settlements on the West Bank, except villages of craftsmen and construction workers of the Tombs and the mortuary temples of the Pharaos. Most prominent are the Valley of the Kings, the Temples of Hatshepsut and the Temple of Amenhotep III with the Memnon Colossi as well as the Ramesseum. If you arrive from the Red Sea Ressorts or by cruise ship there won't be enough time to marvel in the splendor of even the most important sacred venues. 

The Colossi of Memnon at the Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III ​will probably be your first stop on the Westbank while in the rear, archeologists have been working relentlessly for years to give us a glimpse of the splendor of the great king.

No luxories in this part of Luxor

But there are so many fantastic discoveries to be made and so many adventures to live in Luxor alone, not all of them connected to the past of Egypt. Luxor is probably one of the best places in Egypt to get to know the locals and their daily lives. The city has about 425,000 inhabitants and can easily be discovered on foot. Once you have passed the tourist souk and Mc Donald's opposite the Luxor Temple and the corniche, where everybody shouts at you, desperately wanting to sell you something, you will dive into the Luxor of the Egyptians. You will probably be the only foreigner with your sight, but the shouting will suddenly stop and the people lead their daily lives. To me, this is much more interesting than the tourist areas.