Luxor

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Luxor: temple complex

Travel down the Nile to discover important ancient Egyptian cultural sites such as the Pyramids of Giza

Luxor temple complex

Great Temple of Amon, Luxor, Egypt, seen from the southwest, with the Nile River in the background

hypostyle hall; Temple of Luxor

Temple of Luxor

For Students

Al-Jizah. Giza Necropolis, Giza Plateau, Cairo, Egypt. Side view of Sphinx with the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) rising in the background. The sides of all three of the Giza pyramids are astronomically oriented to be north-south, east-west (see notes)

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Hippopotamus in the water. Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Kenya

11 Fascinating Nile River Plants and Animals

An ancient egyptian hieroglyphic painted carving showing the falcon headed god Horus seated on a throne and holding a golden fly whisk. Before him are the Pharoah Seti and the goddess Isis. Interior wall of the temple to Osiris at Abydos, Egypt.

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Great Pyramid of Cheops (Great Pyramid of Khufu) at Giza, Egypt. (Gizah)

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Shah Jahan. Taj Mahal. Mughal architecture. Emperor Shah Jahan fifth Mughal Emperor (reigned 1628-1658) India, Himachal Pradesh, Basohli or Jammu and Kashmir, Mankot, circa 1690 Drawings; Opaque watercolor, gold, and ink on paper (see notes)

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Odissi Indian classical female dancer on white background. (Indian dancer; classical dancer; Indian dance)

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The Lost Colony of Roanoke, North Carolina, where 115 people mysteriously disappeared c. 1590. John White discovers the word Croatoan carved onto a tree upon his return to the deserted Roanoke Colony in 1590

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Fish. Lionfish. Lion-fish. Turkey fish. Fire-fish. Red lionfish. Pterois volitans. Venomous fin spines. Coral reefs. Underwater. Ocean. Red lionfish swims by seaweed.

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Parsons Weems' Fable, oil on canvas by Grant Wood, 1939; in the Amon Carter Museum of American Art. Catalog entry: The historian Mason Locke Weems, commonly known by his clerical title, Parson Weems, pulls back a curtain to point at 6-year-old George Washington. Bearing an adult head and holding an axe, George gazes blankly up at his father, Augustine, who questions his son while holding a partially cut cherry tree. All of this takes place in front of a 20th-century brick building, which Wood modeled after his own home in Iowa. The scene illustrates the fable of Washington and the cherry tree, which Weems invented in 1806 for the first president's biography. Wood playfully suggests the artifice of the tale here, presenting the story in the manner of a costumed stage play rather than a real event. Amid the action, two Black figures pick cherries in the background, a reference to Washington' slaveholding past and a reminder of of what often gets left out in historical mythmaking.

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Luxor: Facts & Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

News •

Egypt begins restoration of Ramesseum Temple in Luxor • Feb. 2, 2025, 1:13 AM ET (Jerusalem Post)

Facts

Also Known As	El-Aksur • Al-Uqṣur

Photos and Videos

Luxor: temple complex

Luxor temple complex

Great Temple of Amon, Luxor, Egypt, seen from the southwest, with the Nile River in the background

hypostyle hall; Temple of Luxor

Temple of Luxor

Travel down the Nile to discover important ancient Egyptian cultural sites such as the Pyramids of Giza

See All Videos and Images →

Topics

ancient Egyptian religion archaeology temple Cairo Alexandria Karnak Giza Al-Ghardaqah Aswān Port Said Al-Fayyūm Suez El-Alamein

Travel down the Nile to discover important ancient Egyptian cultural sites such as the Pyramids of Giza

ancient Egypt

Quiz

Al-Jizah. Giza Necropolis, Giza Plateau, Cairo, Egypt. Side view of Sphinx with the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) rising in the background. The sides of all three of the Giza pyramids are astronomically oriented to be north-south, east-west (see notes)

Pop Quiz: 18 Things to Know About Ancient Egypt

Mount Kenya in Mount Kenya National Park is the highest mountain in Africa. UNESCO World Heritage Site. Giant Lobelia in foreground. (Mt. Kenya; Mt. Kenya National Park; mountains; rugged mountain; African geography, African landscape, stratovolcano)

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Olduvai Gorge or Olduwai Gorge, Tanzania, Africa (eastern Serengeti Plain) Where fossil remains of more than 60 hominins provides the most continuous known record of human evolution. Mary Leakey and Louis Leakey made discoveries here. Archaeology

7 Amazing Historical Sites in Africa