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Have you ever wished to visit the tomb of Tutankhamun? You can do that here at the ancient Thebes with its Necropolis, outside Luxor.
The UNESCO World Heritage List includes more than a thousand properties with outstanding universal value. They are all part of the world’s cultural and natural heritage.
Official facts
- Full name of site: Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis
- Country: Egypt
- Date of Inscription: 1979
- Category: Cultural site
UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre’s short description of site no. 87:
“Thebes, the city of the god Amon, was the capital of Egypt during the period of the Middle and New Kingdoms. With the temples and palaces at Karnak and Luxor, and the necropolises of the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens, Thebes is a striking testimony to Egyptian civilization at its height.”
The Egyptian government writes:
“The ancient city of Thebes, modern Luxor in the south of Egypt, was one of the most important cities from the Middle Kingdom (c.2055–1650 BC) onwards. The vast majority of the ancient Egyptian monuments that can still be visited there today were built during the New Kingdom (c.1550–1069 BC), Egypt’s age of empire. Ancient Thebes and its necropolis, or burial areas, were added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1979.
The monuments that may be seen here are the Karnak temple complex and Luxor Temple on the east bank of the Nile, and those on the west bank include the temple of Ramesses III in Medinet Habu; the Ramesseum of Ramesses II; Amenhotep III’s Colossi of Memnon; the temple of Hatshepsut in Deir al-Bahari; the tombs in the Valley of the Kings, where Tutankhamun was buried; the tombs in the Valley of the Queens; and the town and tombs of the workmen of the royal tombs in Deir al-Medina.”
My visit
Going down the Nile on a cruise ship for three days in 2005 we ended our voyage in Luxor. There we had the great pleasure of visiting the ancient Thebes with its Necropolis, outside Luxor. Here we found and entered some of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings. Inside Luxor town we visited both temples, the Karnak and the Luxor Temple.
Read more about my visit or just watch the videos below.
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