 Homer's "hundred-gated Thebes" stands 676 kms south of Cairo. Called "Luxor" by the Arabs when they came (meaning 'the palaces') this is the most awe-inspiring conglomeration of ancient monuments in the world.
The Luxor Temple, three kilometers away, was once joined to the Kamak by an avenue of ram-headed sphinxes, many of which still remain.
The Luxor Museum, recently opened and displaying chosen pieces excavated in the Luxor area, is a model of the most up-to-date concepts of museum architecture and layout.
Main sites to visit on the West Bank:
The Valley of the Kings is where some 64 of Egypt's Pharaohs had their palatial resting places hewed into the sheer rock, including Tut Ankh Amon, Seti I, Ramses III, Amenhotep II and Ramses VI.
The Valley of the Queens, less grandiose, but still mind-boggling. The Tombs of the Nobles, the most important being those of Nakht, Minna, Ramose, Rekhmere-Ra, and Sennefer, on the walls of which an exquisite record of diumal activities is depicted.
 Queen Hatshepsut's funerary temple.
Deir El Bahari, an architectural tour-de-force built against the sheer Theban cliff range.
The Colossi of Memnon (misnamed) and actually of Amenophis III.
Medinet Habu, Ramses III's funerary temple, anticipating in its style, the mediaeval fortress.
Some places to stay:
Pullman Winter Palace,
El Nil. Etap, El Nil St.Luxor Hotel, Temple Street. Savoy hotel, El Nil St.Youth Hostel,
El Mansheya St.
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