An ancient place of worship for the god Amun, it was part of the monumental city of Thebes.
This complex is comprised of a vast mix of decayed temples, chapels, pylons, and other buildings. To emphasize height and distance and enhance an existing pathway, two obelisks flanking the entrance were built with the illusion that they were the same height-even though they weren’t. For example, a sanctuary shaped like an Anubis Jackal was used as a representational symbol of Anubis. Like other Egyptian structures, common techniques were the use of symbolism and illusionism. The Luxor temple was built with Nubian sandstone from south-western Egypt. There are six great temples: four on the left bank known as Goornah, Deir-el-Bahri, the Ramesseum, and Medinet Habu and two on the right bank known as the Karnak and Luxor. Luxor Temple is a large temple complex located on the east bank of the Nile River in what was ancient Thebes (today the city of Luxor). Starting with Hatshepsut, buildings were of a grander scale than anything previously seen in the Middle Kingdom. The wealth gained through military dominance created huge prosperity for Egypt and allowed for the proliferation of monumental architecture, especially works that glorified the pharaohs’ achievements. The New Kingdom is known as the golden age of ancient Egyptian history and is the period of Hatshepsut, Tutankhamun, Ramses II, and other famous pharaohs.
