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- Egypt’s most famous site is the Great Pyramid of Giza, the only one of the Seven Wonders of the World still standing and one of the new seven wonders of the world, introduced in 2007.
- On a recent trip to Egypt, I found that the city of Luxor, once the ancient capital of Thebes and often called the world’s "largest open-air museum," held far more fascinating ancient Egyptian ruins, burial sites, temples, and hieroglyphs than Giza.
- Luxor is home to the Valley of the Kings, a valley of over 60 rock-cut royal tombs filled with colorful hieroglyphs and cave paintings, the temple of Karnak, a complex built over the course of 1,500 years, and dozens of other tombs, temples, and statues.
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Lots of tourists think of Egypt as a stop-over: Spend a night in Cairo, get up early, check the Great Pyramid of Giza off the bucket list, and head to the next destination. What a mistake they make.
Though Egypt’s most famous site dating back to ancient times is the Great Pyramid of Giza, the sights in Egypt’s south are perhaps even more awe-inspiring. In particular, I’m talking about those in the city of Luxor.
Luxor is often called the world’s "largest open-air museum." The city sits on what was once the ancient city of Thebes, the capital of unified Egypt for hundreds of years. At the height of Egypt’s powers, it was world’s center of art, business, and culture.
This past December, I visited Luxor over the course of two days, far too short a time to experience it all, and found it to be the highlight of my month in the country.
Here’s what it was like.
I got to Luxor in a roundabout way. I took a 12-hour overnight train from Cairo to Aswan, a town near the southern border of Egypt, and then meandered up the Nile on a multiple-day cruise to Luxor, stopping at various temples along the way. The vistas along the Nile were spectacular.
Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider
The cruise arrived at Luxor in the middle of the night. As it is for many, my introduction to the area was a hot-air balloon ride as the sun was rising. We were packed thirty to a basket as the sky was colored in pastel purples and pinks.
Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider
As we rose over the city, I got glimpses of many of Luxor’s ancient sites. Luxor is often called "the world’s greatest open-air museum." When you see 60-foot granite statues, colonnades, and sprawling temple complexes beneath you, the moniker makes sense.
Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider
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Source: Business Insider – hjacobs@businessinsider.com (Harrison Jacobs)