Luxor is situated in the middle of Egypt. From Cairo the train takes you there in about 9 hours, by plane it's only 30 minutes.
Luxor is a true templecity and there is a lot to see from ancient times.
Karnak is an enormous templecomplex. For more than 2000 years different pharaos have added their temple to the complex. A true city for the Gods and Goddesses. The first thing you notice in Karnak are two hughes obelisks. They are still in such a pristine condition, that it looks like the carvings were made yesterday. Upon entering you are standing in a beautiful hall with many thick, high pillars, that supported the roof of the temple. Next to the templecomplex is the sacred lake. The priests and priestesses ritually cleansed themselves before they began with their work for the Gods. The people living in Egypt today are still performing the same sort of ritual. Before they pray, 5 times a day, they wash themselves.
The temple of Luxor is also very impressive, guarded by big statues of pharaoh Ramses II. At night the temple is lighted so beautiful that it looks like you're walking in a fairytale.
Because the sun goes down in the west, the pharaos had their final resting place on the west bank of the Nile in a mountainvalley. Long corridors run deep into the mountains. At the end is a room with the sarcophagus. The beautiful pictures on the walls still have the original colours.
For the ancient Egyptians the afterlife was very important. On the walls you'll see images of their daily life, like hunting, fishing, working on the land. But also many pictures of the Gods, like the god Anubis, the jackal. His task was to help people on their way to the afterlife. The person came before 42 judges asking whether he or she lived an honest life. Their heart was put on a scale and had to be as light as a feather. If so the person had been good and honest and could be sure of a happy next life.
