The 3,200 year old stone halls of the Luxor Temple, captured at sunset [OC] [1335×2000]

I saved Luxor Temple as my last visit in Luxor after four days exploring most of the other sites found on both sides of the Nile. I will be honest: I didn’t have high expectations considering how incredible Karnak was as well some of the other sites found on the West Bank. Luxor Temple, from the outside, seems like a smaller version of Karnak. However, I would say I was pleasantly surprised!

First of all, I appreciate this was the only site open after 5 pm (open till 9 pm!) as well as all the hidden layers found carved in stone here. Alexander the Great as pharaoh is carved here, as well as Christian frescoes painted over the hieroglyphs and an 800 year old mosque built over part of the temple, and still in use. This make Luxor Temple perhaps the oldest continuously used temple in the world – a place where humans have tried to connect to the divine for nearly 4,000 years. Not considering the other sites in ancient Thebes, Luxor is a world-class site and I am glad to have played a very small and insignificant part in its history by visiting it!