On Luxor’s waterfront, Luxor Temple (primarily Amenhotep III and Ramses II) staged the Opet Festival linking Amun’s Karnak shrine to royal renewal. Colossal seated statues, obelisks (one now in Paris), colonnades, and later Roman and Islamic layers testify to continuous sacred use. Excavation and urban integration have re‑opened the Sphinx Avenue between Luxor and Karnak.
Luxor Temple’s axis runs north–south along the Nile’s ancient city. Amenhotep III’s colonnades and courts formed the core; Ramses II added a great pylon, colossi, and obelisks. Later, Alexander’s Chapel and Roman military frescoes overlay earlier sanctuaries.
Each year, barges carried Amun, Mut, and Khonsu from Karnak to Luxor in a public procession affirming divine kingship and fertility. Reliefs depict rituals of rebirth within Luxor’s inner rooms.
Roman castra absorbed parts of the temple; a mosque (Abu al‑Haggag) crowns the site today—a living palimpsest negotiated by conservation.
Restored colonnades, night lighting, and the reconnected Sphinx Avenue create an immersive route from Karnak to Luxor. Conservation mitigates groundwater and salt, secures blocks, and manages heavy visitation.
