page_title: Thebes, Egypt
section_title: Major sites
hierarchical_section_title: Thebes, Egypt / Major sites
context_page_description: Thebes, known to the ancient Egyptians as Waset, was an ancient Egyptian city located along the Nile about 800 kilometers south of the Mediterranean. Its ruins lie within the modern Egyptian city of Luxor. Thebes was the main city of the fourth Upper Egyptian nome and was the capital of Egypt for long periods during the Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom eras. It was close to Nubia and the Eastern Desert, with its valuable mineral resources and trade routes. It was a cult center and the most venerated city during many periods of ancient Egyptian history. The site of Thebes includes areas on both the eastern bank of the Nile, where the temples of Karnak and Luxor stand and where the city proper was situated; and the western bank, where a necropolis of large private and royal cemeteries and funerary complexes can be found.
context_section_description: Eastern Thebes:
  Ancient built-up area
  Great Temple of Amun at Karnak (Ancient Egyptian Ta-opet). Still the second largest religious building ever built, it is the main house of worship for Amun, Thebes' patron deity, and the residence of the powerful Amun priesthood. What differentiated it from the many temples of Egypt is the length of time it was built over (more than 2,000 years, starting in the Middle Kingdom). The main features of this temple are its ten large pylons, the Great Hypostyle Hall, a sacred lake, sub-temples, numerous shrines and multiple obelisks. It was the most important temple for a majority of Ancient Egyptian history.
  Luxor Temple (Ipet resyt). Unlike the other temples in Thebes, it is not dedicated to a cult god or a deified version of the king in death. Instead, it is dedicated to the rejuvenation of kingship; it may have been where many of the pharaohs of Egypt were crowned. It is a centerpiece of the "Opet Festival", where the sacred barque of the Theban Triad travels from Karnak to Luxor temple highlighting the godly significance of the pharaoh's re-coronation .
  Temple of Khonsu
  Precinct of Mut
  Precinct of Montu
  Avenue of the Sphinxes
  
  Western Thebes:
  Village of Deir el-Medina
  Malkata palace complex
  Ramesseum
  Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III
  Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut
  Mortuary Temple of Seti I
  Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III
  Valley of the Kings
  Valley of the Queens
  Tombs of the Nobles
caption: Obelisk, Ramesside colossi and great pylon of Luxor Temple with subtle orange glow
exif: {}