Les meilleurs hôtels à Louxor

Resting on the site of the ancient Egyptian capital of Thebes, Luxor offers the country's richest collection of ruins and monuments. Returning to Thebes with gold and slaves, the warrior pharaohs of the 18th Dynasty created an opulent capital of colossal temples and monuments that straddled both banks of the Nile. At the height of its glory, from 1570 to 1090 B.C., Thebes had a population of nearly one million. The city remained the administrative and religious center of Egypt until the fifth century B.C., when foreign invaders stripped the capital of its power and riches and eventually Thebes faded into myth. Over the centuries, East Bank residents built homes inside and around the city's surviving monuments, eventually burying them in rubble and desert sand. Luxor remained a largely obscure provincial village until members of Napolean's expedition began uncovering and recording its ruins and astonishing the Victorian world. Tourists have flocked to this riverside city to view its ancient splendor ever since. With its waterfront lined with cruise ships, faluccas and restaurants and its lively outdoor markets and teahouses, modern-day Luxor is a vibrant town that bustles beneath the shadow of its ancient glory. Built on a scale for giant gods, the Karnak temple complex is possibly the most extravagant monument of the Pharaonic legacy. The main structure grew from a 12th Dynasty core, expanding as each succeeding ruler added to the orginal plan. Today the complex sprawls across much of northern Luxor. The necropolis of ancient Thebes, the west bank of Luxor contains the City of the Dead where magnificent temples were raised to honor the cults of Pharaohs entombed in the nearby cliffs. Other highlights along the west bank include the Valley of the Kings, where the tomb of Tutankhamen was discovered in 1922; the Tombs of the Nobles and Queen Hatshepsut's temple. If you tire of archaelogical sites, hire a falucca and cruise the Nile, take a stroll through the gardens at the grand, old Luxor Hotel or sit riverside sipping tea and watching the sun set brilliantly over the Nile. At night be sure to return to the Temple of Karnak for a spectacular sound and light show -- one of Egypt's best -- that recounts the history of Thebes with lights, music and narration.