The city of Waset, in ancient Egyptian it means the city of a Hundred Gates. It was also called Thebes later became the famous city of Luxor. During the era of the twelfth Dynasty (1991 BC) this city was the capital of Egypt and became at its highest fame during the era of the New Kingdom.
The campaigns of Thutmose III were planned from this city, the building program of Rameses II was established from it and where Akhenaten had his thoughts about god. The only city that could match it was the city of Memphis which nothing is left from it but remains due to the theft of its stone works and building of other cities on its remains.
On the River Nile bank, lays the most prominent and elegant of the stone buildings that remained from the city of Thebes, which is the Temple of Luxor. While other mud-brick built have perished.
Amenhotep III (1390-52 BC) started building it then the building was completed ny both Tutankhamun (1336-27 BC) and Horemoheb (1323-1295 BC), and some additions was made by Rameses II (1279-13 BC) and the granite shrine was later added by Alexander (332-305 BC).
The temple has been used for worship since it was built to the present day. The hypostyle hall was used as a Christian Church during the Christian era in Egypt. And you can see another Coptic Church remains to the west. Then the temple was buried for thousands of years and a mosque of Sufi Shaykh Yusuf Abu al-Hajjaj was built in its place. And when the temple was unearthed the mosque was preserved while moving it, and it’s a part of the sight nowadays.
The northern end of the court first was the entrance to the temple but that changed by the works of Rameses Ii later on. It was originally a porch surrounded by seven pairs of 16m high columns with open papyrus flower tops. It started with the building of the temple during the era of Amenhotep III and later was completed by Tutankhamun and they still maintain the huge architrave blocks.
When you pass through the court you will reach the Hypostyle Hall, containing 32 columns, ending with four small rooms then an antechamber leading to the birth room, the sanctuary and Alexander the Great’s Chapel.
