Downtown

Downtown, in the shopping parades and along the river Nile provides you with the final post of images from Luxor.

A calesh driver seeks out tourist to ride his carriage

A felluca sails on the river Nile during sunset

A man sells fruit and vegetables at his road side stall

Horse drawn carts are a common occurrence in Luxor

Hundreds of souvenirs of all shapes and sizes are stacked on selves at this shop

West Bank, Luxor

Ramesses II built many temples this one, the Ramessuem Temple, was built after his reign as king and took 20 years to complete.

Restoration work being done.

The main hypostle hall

A western view from inside the hypostyle hall

Only one hand, two feet and a head remain from the huge statue resting next to the south tower pylon

  

Pathway leading to a tomb at the Valley of the Kings

Valley of the Kings

Karnak Temple

Karnak being the largest complex of temples in the world is a marvel of sights and one could easily spend hours wondering around. Saying that, I spent a whole day at Karnak testing my photography skills and trying new ones too. First entering the labyrinth armed with a wide angle lens shooting the corridors, chambers and huge pillars then exiting with a zoom to shoot more detailed images. 

 Here are a few images that I think could win numerous awards( its good to be positive):

Avenue of ram-headed sphinxes

Once joined with the avenue of sphinxes at Luxor Temple the avenue was 2, 700 meters long.

Ram-headed sphinxes inside the festival temple of Amenhotep II

Towering columns inside the Great Hypostyle Hall

Tour guide waiting for baksheesh

One of the many chambers

Statue of Ramsses II

Hieroglyphics and argun palm trees

Luxor Temple

Entrance to Luxor Temple

Pillars of the central corridor

Temple guide inside one of Amenhotep III temple chambers

Luxor, Egypt

Luxor's temples are mesmerizing and the streets in Luxor are much cleaner than in Cairo. Horse drawn calesh tussle with motor vehicles for a place in the streets. Little plots of land in between old and newly unfinished buildings are used to grow vegetables, larger sugar cane plantations on the outskirts. Downtown, hotels and souvenir shops line the streets and alley ways dedicated to entice tourists for a closer look at the souvenirs and to relax while smoking a shisha at a coffee shop. Uncountable minarets rise up from mosques to pepper the skyline while chants are heard from megaphones. From the east bank to the west bank, Luxor is possibly my favourite city in Egypt.

Avenue of Sphinxes at Luxor Temple  towards Karnak

The entrance to Luxor Temple and a defaced Ramesses II statue

One  of the many minarets

Another statue of Ramesses II on the left side of the entrance to Luxor temple