Egypt has many pyramids and temples, as we all know. But for some reason, most people have never heard of the Luxor Temple. My guess for why it isn't as well known as it should be is because the Luxor Temple doesn't have as many intriguing topics to talk about, unlike other places in Egypt. We hear many things about the Luxor Temple but we never actually hear the name of the Luxor Temple.

The Luxor Temple does not get close to enough appreciation. Luxor Temple is a very large temple complex located on the East side of the Nile River. The Luxor Temple was constructed around the age of 1392 BC. Luxor was the capital of Egypt from the 12th dynasty. Thutmose III planned all of his campaigns at the Luxor Temple. According to National Geographic, Thutmose III was a very important pharaoh to all of the people. Thutmose III was also commonly known as Thutmose the Great. Thutmose lll was the sixth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. Thutmose the Great ruled for almost 54 years, he was one of the longest rulers of Luxor. Thutmose the Great had a wife and two kids. Thutmose wife's name was Satiah and his two kids' names were named Amenhotep ll, and Amenemhat. The Luxor Temple used to have many different homes and palaces of Thebes around the area but over time all of the brick houses and Palaces of Thebes have disappeared leaving only the Luxor Temple standing prominently. Amenhotep III (1390-52BC) started building the Luxor Temple but did not live long enough to complete it so Tutankhamun and Horemheb (1323-1295BC) completed the construction of the Luxor Temple for him because the Luxor Temple had already been built too much by then to tear it down.

Inside the Luxor Temple, there are many granite shrines made for Alexander the Great. According to Walbank, F.W “Alexander the Great” published on October 18, 2022, Alexander the Great was the King of Macedonia through the years 336-323 BCE. Alexander the Great created a vast empire that stretched from Macedonia down to Egypt and from Greece to parts of India. Having this massive empire allowed for the Hellenistic culture to become widespread all over the place. The Hellenistic Culture is the Greek culture that was created in the fourth century B.C.E and it had begun after the great conquest of Alexander the Great. One of if not the most famous examples of Hellenistic culture is the Laocoön. According to Daily Art Magazine, in The Work of a Lifetime, the Laocoön represented mankind (father and sons, adult and youngsters, present and future) being mercilessly struck by torment and death instilled in it by the two snakes. After the years the Sufi Shaykh Yusuf Abu al-hajjaj was built over it. The Sufi Shaykh Yusuf Abu al- Hajjaj is a mosque that was built over the Luxor Temple to make it into a church. The whole reason that the Luxor Temple was made into a church was that the people wanted it to be a dedication to the rejuvenation of kingship.

According to Encyclopedia Britannica Margaret Stefana, published on January 26, 2023. The Luxor Temple consisted of a generally large peristyle court and multiple different halls and chamber complexes. A peristyle is a covered porch that generally will surround an outdoor garden or a courtyard. The Luxor civilization was “booming” as one would say because Ancient Luxor had multiple churches around the area causing people to gather since almost everyone was very religious. Due to these churches, the Luxor population had a staggering 50,000 civilians. Today Luxor, Egypt has a population of 1.3 million people. Every day Luxor's population is growing larger. Luxor is not growing because of the churches anymore it is growing larger because the weather in Luxor is sunny and not rainy but in the summer the weather is incredibly hot. According to Cairo Top Tours, published in 2014 the Luxor Temple was 55 meters in width and 190 meters in length, and 55 feet tall. The Luxor Pyramid is relatively short compared to its length and width of it because the Luxor Temple is so much smaller in length is because at the time of construction, there was no easy way of making it tall, it was a lot easier to make it longer since it was just repetitive all the way around. This Pyramid was massive some would say others would say it's a medium-sized temple compared to other temples that are still standing.

Before doing this blog I rarely ever heard the name of the Luxor Temple even in school, at home, or nowhere. It is not a big topic anywhere because it doesn't have enough history or large structures to even be called important in the school systems. Writing this blog made me realize that the Luxor Temple is important to learn about because it has hundreds of interesting years to learn about. In school, I learned about Alexander the Great but I never knew where he originally came from or anything about him. He was pretty much just a name I would hear briefly throughout history class. I always talk about traveling to different places in the world including Egypt. Whenever I go to Egypt if I ever do I will make sure to go to Nubia, Egypt, and explore the Luxor Temple for myself.