The temple, which was erected on the site of an ancient edifice by Ptolemy VI (180—145 BC), was possibly once as enormous as the temple at Edfu.

In the same way that Muslims strive to visit Mecca monce in their lifetime and Hindus strive to die at Benares, the Ancient Egyptians had a deep desire to make a pilgrimage to ABYDOS (pronounced “Abi-dos”), the cult center of the god Osiris, which is located approximately 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) west of the Nile in Upper Egypt.

Deir El-Medina is a town on Luxor’s west bank that was home to the laborers who constructed many of Thebes’ magnificent structures.

Luxor’s Mummification Museum (open daily from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5-10 p.m. in the summer; 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4-9 p.m. in the winter; no photography allowed) is located at the northern end of the Nile Shopping Center, below the Corniche, and does little to distinguish itself from other museums in the region.

Hatshepsut and Tuthmosis III supervised the construction of the initial temple of Amun, which was eventually walled in by Ramses III to form the current complex.