Of all the many towns and villages that we've visited in the land of the Pharos, Luxor, the former capital of ancient Egypt, qualifies as my favorite. An even weighing of bias for both its sights and its people, put it on the top of the list.

Even though this Nile-side town has grown up around the tourist industry, it still retains every aspect of a traditional Egyptian community, as well as hints of its ancient splendor. The name Luxor comes from the Arabic word ‘El-Uqsor’, which means palaces. This moniker refers to the palaces of the gods, better known in today’s terminology as temples. In this case, the name fits well. Luxor lays claim to many of the most impressive of Egypt’s ancient monuments.

It is in the city itself that two of these wonders sit almost side-by-side. Our day of sightseeing began at the sprawling complex which groups several temples within its far reaching walls - the hugely impressive complex of Karnak. Over the centuries, it grew to its present vast proportions, as each dynasty added its own temple, monument, or shrine to the existing series of structures. Each king, in each dynasty, would, of course, do his best to outdo the others before him.

Just a few of the most impressive, of the most impressive include: the Great Hypostyle Hall, with its 134 giant columns arraigned in 16 rows. These massive stone structures are each 70 feet high and 45 feet in circumference (50 people could stand on top of each one). The columns show the Egyptians sophisticated religious practices with carvings of their kings making offerings to the gods, as the ruins of the massive ceiling show their sophistication in the science of architecture.

The hall is the largest temple supported by columns in the world. It is so large that it could easily contain the whole of Notre Dame de Paris within its walls. In addition, just beyond this great hall are the obeliscs of Tutmose I and a smaller, but still colossal banqueting hall, the sacred lake, and numerous other rooms and halls.

Our second stop of the day was the great sanctuary dedicated to the creator god Amun (yes, some say, as in Amen).
The avenue leading to the entrance of this temple is lined with human headed sphinxes. This same avenue once connected this with the Karnak complex. The outer gate is guarded with twin statues of Ramses II, while the inner chambers pay tribute to the Amenophis III. Smack dab in the middle of the temple is a mosque. Sitting about 25 feet above what is now (after excavation) ground level, this relatively modern Islamic cathedral seems to float in space above the dusty ruins of the early Egyptians.

Across the river and into the desert, lays the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens. To date, archeologists have discovered over seventy tombs in this unimposing gorge of rocky ravines known as Valley of the Kings. King Tutmose I was the first to break a long tradition of grandiose (and very obvious) burial grounds by having his eternal (or at least that was the idea) resting place dug deep into an inconspicuous crack, in an isolated valley. Unfortunately his, nor the efforts of the 80 or so successive pharaohs, succeeded in foiling the industrious grave robbers of the time.

Now, thousands of years later, all that remains are the tombs themselves, adorned with vividly carved and brightly painted scenes of the everyday yester-world, as well as scenes of the many pomp religious rituals. In spite of the efforts of the grave robbers, and thanks for the most part to the dry desert climate, these are all astonishingly well preserved considering how long ago they were carved and painted.

We took the time to explore the tombs of Sa-Ptah, Ramsey IX, Tuthmosis III. In much the same fashion, the Queens of the time also claimed a valley to dig their burial chambers. We walked down the long, sloping corridors of the tombs of Queen Titi, Queen Amunherkhupshep, and finally, that of Queen Kha-em Wast.

The highlight of our trip into the valley was most definitely our 15 minute (time in the tomb was strictly limited) walk into around the Queen of Nefertari. Her tomb has been renovated by a team of Italian archeologists. Although they only restored, not touched up or repainted, the walls, they were nearly back to their original striking vibrancy. Nothing short of breathtaking.