The Luxor temple complex is one of the main tourist attractions at popular destination Luxor (ancient Thebes). It is smaller than the famous temple complex of Karnak but equally worth a visit. It was known as "ipet resyt" ("the southern harem") by the Egyptians.

The temple complex was originally constructed during the New Kingdom for one of the most famous festivals in the Egyptian calendar – the feast of Opet. During this festival statues of Amun, Mut and Khonso would travel from Karnak in their sacred barques (boats) to the Luxor temple where the marriage of Amun and Mut was celebrated and the Pharaoh was symbolically reunited with his Ka (divine spirit). The city of Luxor would grind to a halt for the festival every year and huge quantities of food and drink would be consumed as the population celebrated. By the reign of Ramessess II the festival was thought to last around twenty-seven days!

The site was expanded upon and rebuilt many times by Egyptian pharaohs including Hatshepsut, Thuthmosis, Amenhotep III, Tutankhamun, Horemheb and Nectanebo, but the majority of the structure is the work of Amenhotep III (the father of Akhenaten) and Ramesses II. In fact many of the structures built by earlier pharaohs were usurped by Ramesses II who was never shy about “adapting” the work of others!

The first pylon, constructed by Ramessess II, is a huge gateway covered with engravings depicting his military successes. He also installed six huge statues of himself, two of which are still in place, and two huge obelisks, one of which is still there. Behind this impressive gateway there are a series of colonnaded courtyards with massive columns covered with engravings some of which still have traces of the beautiful colours of their decorations. The inner sanctum of the temple includes shrines to the three Theban gods and a “birth chamber” constructed by Amenhotep in which he asserts that Amun took the place of his father (Tuthmosis IV) with his mother Mutemwiya making him the child of a god. There is also a barque shrine built by Amenhotep III and later adapted by Alexander the Great.

After the invasion of the Romans, the temple complex was used as a barracks and fort for Roman soldiers and a number of Roman Emperors added their own shrines or adapted the existing monuments for their own use. Some of the smaller rooms in the inner sanctum were adopted as Christian shrines. Later still, the temple was buried under the sand and a mosque to the Muslim saint Abu'l Hagag was constructed on top of one of the pillared courtyards. When the sand was cleared away the mosque was preserved and now one of its doors actually hovers around eight feet above ground level.

Luxor is a fascinating site, and the temple complex is in pretty good condition. It is located on the east bank of the Nile in the centre of Luxor and is a very popular spot with tourists so it is generally busy. In the summer evenings the site is beautifully lit and quite breathtaking to behold. It is around 2 miles from the Karnak Temple Complex and the two sites used to be linked by an avenue lined with sphinxes. There is a busy bazaar behind the temple with plenty of shops and cafes.