Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis Egypt

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. Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis was inscribed as World Heritage Site in 1979. Thebes contains the finest relics of the history, art and religion of ancient Egypt, of which it was the capital in its period of greatest splendour.

Continent: Africa

Country: Egypt

Category: Cultural

Criterion: (I) (III)(VI)

Date of Inscription: 1979

Fabulous site of Luxor and Karnak

Hundreds of sovereigns, from pharaohs to Roman emperors, glorified the city with architecture, obelisks and sculpture. The exaltation of life found expression in the Thebes of the Living, identifiable in the fabulous site of Luxor and Karnak, on the right bank of the Nile, the site of the temples dedicated to the divine triad of Montu, Amon and Mut, while the celebration of death took shape in the Thebes of the Dead.

The Ancient Egyptian Art

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The city was sacred to GOD

From the Middle Kingdom to the end of the ancient era, the city was sacred to the god Amon, the supreme Sun God: temples of incomparable splendour and size were dedicated to him. The temple of Luxor, built by Amenophis III and Ramesses II, was connected to the great sanctuary of Karnak by a long triumphal boulevard lined by sphinxes that led to its entrance, preceded by a pair of obelisks made from pink granite.

The entrance to the temple is adorned with scenes from the Syrian and Hittite military campaign and leads to the great courtyard of Ramesses II and to the chapel that served as a storehouse for the boats, dedicated to the triad of Amon, the father, Mut, the mother, represented in the form of a vulture or a lion, and Khonsu, the lunar son of the couple. The second complex, with a magnificent and immense entrance and colonnade, a courtyard, and a hall crowned with tall columns, was built at the command of Amenophis III.

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