الثلاثاء، 1 مايو 2012

Luxor City

Luxor City
the nickname of luxor is the city of 100 gate , Also it is The City of the Sun. Previously known as Thebes.
It Is the capital of Egypt in the Pharaonic era & Located on the banks of the River Nile , Which is divided into two parts :
 the eastern mainland and the west . Luxor is the capital of the province of Luxor in southern Egypt, and away from the Egyptian capital Cairo, about 670 km, And the northern city of Aswan, about 220 km, and the southern city of Qena, about 56 k,And on the south-west of the city of Hurghada at about 280 km.
The area of ​​Luxor, about 416 km ², and the populated area is 208 km .
Luxor Includes many of the ancient pharaonic monuments , divided into east and west of the city:
The East Side Includes land east of Luxor Temple, Karnak Temple, and Kabash through the link between the two temples, and the Luxor Museum  .
The West Side includes the Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Deir el-Bahri, Valley of the Queens, Deir el-Medina the Temple of the Ramesseum, and the statue of Memnon.
History
Luxor was the ancient city of Thebes, the great capital of Egypt during the New Kingdom, and the glorious city of the god Amon Ra.
The importance of the city started as early as the 11 th Dynasty,  when the town grew into a thriving city, renowned for its high social status and luxury, but also as a center for wisdom, art, religious and political supremacy. Montuhotep II who united Egypt after the troubles of the first intermediate period brought stability to the lands as the city grew in stature. 
The Pharaohs of the New Kingdom in their expeditions to Kush, in today's northern Sudan,  and to the lands of Canaan , Phoenicia and Syria saw the city accumulate great wealth and rose to prominence, even on a world scale. Thebes played a major role in expelling the invading forces of the Hyksos from Upper Egypt, and from the time of the 18th Dynasty through to the 20th Dynasty, the city had risen as the major political, religious and military capital of Ancient Egypt. 
The city attracted peoples such as the Babylonians , the Mitanni , the Hittites of Anatolia (modern-day Turkey), the Canaanites  of Ugarit, the Phoenicians of Byblos and Tyre, the Minoans from the island of Crete.
A Hittite prince from Anatolia even came to marry with the widow of Tutankhamun , Ankhesenamun.  The political and military importance of the city, however, faded during the Late Period, with Thebes being replaced as political capital by several cities in Northern Egypt, such as Bubastis, Sais and finally Alexandria.

However, as the city of the god Amon-Ra, Thebes remained the religious capital of Egypt until the Greek period. The main god of the city was Amon, who was worshipped together with his wife, the Goddess Mut, and their son Khonsu, the God of the moon. With the rise of Thebes as the foremost city of Egypt, the local god Amon rose in importance as well and became linked to the sun god Ra, thus creating the new 'king of gods' Amon-Ra. His great temple, at Karnak  just north of Thebes, was the most important temple of Egypt right until the end of antiquity.
Later, the city was attacked by Assyrian emperor Assurbanipal who installed the Libyan prince on the throne, Psammetichus.
The city of Thebes was in ruins and fell in significance. 
However, Alexander the Great did arrive at the temple of Amun, where the statue of the god was transferred from Karnak during the Opet Festival, the great religious feast 
The grandeur of Thebes would still remain a site of spirituality, and attracted numerous Christian monks in the Roman Empire  who established monasteries amidst several ancient monuments including the temple of Hatshipsut, now called Deir el-Bahri (the northern monastery). 


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