Luxor

Built on the site of Thebes, capital of united Egypt during the New Kingdom (18th-20th dynasties, 1555-1070 BC), Luxor is home to several august monuments. Within the town, the Temples of Karnak and Luxor awe even ruins-jaded travelers with their fusillades of gateways and forests of gigantic columns. Luxor’s historic and artistic wealth spills to the other side of the Nile, where fabulous tombs dot the The-ban plain on the Nile’s west bank. In the barren Valley of the Kings, pharaohs such as Tutankhamon achieved the immortality they sought: though their methods may have railed, the international fame of their exquisite tombs lives on millennia later. Luxor is also a good base for daytrips to the antiquities at Abydos, Dendera, Edfu, and Esna.

Luxor’s relationship with its illustrious past is more parasitic than reverent. The tourism industry here has created a society of single-minded hawkers and hoteliers, kalish chauffeurs and kabah chefs. Be careful where you place your trust; always know where you’re going and what you’re doing before you find yourself on a donkey ride to Luxor Temple, with stops at the city’s finest eating establishments and perfume shops. In any event, Luxor’s dependence on tourism makes it a buyer’s market, particularly during the slow summer season. Budget travelers luxuriate in Luxor; a few dollars per day can buy accommodations, food, and access to unforgettable sights,