Luxor/East Bank
From World travel guide
The East Bank of Luxor refers to the central part of Luxor township, centred on the twin foci of the Temple of Luxor and the Temple of Karnak. Unlike the West Bank, which was ever the main area for cemeteries and mortuary temples, the East Bank represented the main settlement of the living throughout the millennia - a role that has hardly changed. The vast majority of hotels and tourist facilities are to be found in the East Bank.
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Understand
The layout of Luxor town is fairly straightforward: arranged about the temples of Karnak and Luxor (actually some 3 km apart, in the north and south of the city respectively) are four main roads with a network of many small streets between them:
- the Corniche el-Nil (usually just referred to as 'the Corniche', running along the east bank of the Nile and connecting most of the major attractions
- Sharia al-Mahatta, linking the railway station with the area around Luxor Temple
- Sharia Karnak, running inland parallel to the Nile and the Corniche
- Sharia Televizyon, in the southern part of the town, an area of inexpensive accommodation
Get in
The East Bank of Luxor represents the central part of Luxor as a locality, the part of the town that the vast majority of tourists will first arrive in, either by land, river or air - arrive in Luxor, you've essentially got to the East Bank....
See
Temples
- the Temple of Luxor, open daily May-September 6am – 8pm, October-April 6am-9pm, admission LE£35 - as it stands today, largely the work of Amenhotep III and Ramesses II the Great (whose colossi and obelisk stand at the entrance). Also to be seen is the small "hanging" Mosque of Abu al-Haggag, its position a reflection of the ground level that had built up before excavation of the temple precinct
- the Temple of Karnak - more accurately, the Temples of Karnak, open daily May-September 6am-6pm, October-April 6am-5pm, admission LE£40
The famous Hypostyle hall at Karnak
- the Karnak Open Air Museum - an off-shoot to the Karnak temple complex, accessed just before the Second Pylon at left, featuring an amazing array of statuary and reconstructed temple structures. Don't miss this! Ticket to be bought from the Karnak ticket office. Open 6 am - 5.30 pm daily. Entry £10.
Museums
- Luxor Museum, open daily October-April 9am-1pm and 4pm-9pm, May-September 9am-1pm and 5pm-10pm, admission LE£35 - located approximately halfway between Luxor and Karnak temples on the Corniche el-Nil. A small but quality collection of antiquities, mainly from the Luxor region. Includes most of the remarkable collection of pharaonic statuary found in a hidden cache within Luxor Temple in 1989, displayed in a special annex.
Statue of Amenhotep III in Luxor Museum
- the Museum of Mummification, Corniche el-Nil, opposite the Mina Palace Hotel, open daily October-April 9am-1pm and 4pm-9pm, May-September 9am-1pm and 5pm-10pm, admission LE£35 - as the name suggests, the small but fascinating collection is devoted to mummification practices.
Other points of interest
- the Brooke Hospital for Animals [1] - the Luxor branch of this extremely worthy and hard-working charity is well worth a visit. Dedicated to the welfare of animals in the locality and the education of their owners. Open for visits 0800-1330 and 1600-1800 October - April, 0800-1330 and 1800-2000 May - September. Entry is free, but please leave a donation - however small - to help their work.
Do
- Pay a visit at the Brooke Hospital for Animals - and leave a donation!
- Pay a repeat visit to Luxor Temple at night - atmospherically lit, it has a completely different mood to that found in the daytime and is usually more intimate then with fewer visitors
- Watch the sun go down over the Nile: preferably from the terrace of the Old Winter Palace hotel, with a drink in your hand. Listen to cacophany from thousands of small birds that roost in the trees lining the Corniche.
Buy
Eat
- Jamboree Restaurant, Daily 10.30am-2.30pm & 6.30-10.30pm. 29 Sharia el-Montazah. Ph: 010-146 1712, between the Luxor fire station and the telephone exchange, behind the Mena Palace Hotel - a spotlessly clean, air-conditioned establishment with roof terrace, serving a range of mid-priced Egyptian and international dishes of above average quality including Cajun chicken (£22.50), tasty jacket potatoes (LE 9-13) and a safe salad bar. Owned and run by a friendly Scottish couple.
Drink
Sleep
Budget
Mid-range
- Horus Hotel, Sharia Karnak (about one block north of the junction with Sharia al-Mahatta, near the Souk), tel 372 165, fax 373 447 - basically comfortable, the front rooms have a great view over Sharia Karnak to the northern end of Luxor Temple (perhaps not as great as it sounds - quite a bit of street noise goes with that and the mosque within the temple will guarantee an unforgettable early morning wake-up call from its muzzein....)
- Philippe Hotel, Sharia Nefertiti, tel 373 604, fax 380 050 - a good mid-range hotel, well-located with a rooftop garden, bar and pool
Splurge
- the Old Winter Palace - the quintessential Victorian travellers' hotel in Luxor, built in 1886 and now run by the Sofitel chain, an iconic (but expensive) play to stay. Often block-booked by tour groups, so reserve well ahead if you want to stay or be prepared to be flexible with dates. Corniche el Nil, phone 380422, fax 374087, email H1661@accor-hotels.com . Rates vary between USD$134 - $504.
- The Jolly Ville Mövenpick Luxor Resort - located on Crocodile Island, 4 km from the city center. Has a free shuttle bus/boat service to downtown. A nice comfortable hotel with 332 rooms & suites. All the rooms are bungalow style, with satellite TVs, direct dial telephones, mini-fridge, private baths with showers and bath and individually controlled air conditioning. There are also terraces which usually face large garden areas and sometimes unusual for Egypt, non-smoking rooms. Recreational activities include an outdoor swimming pool, four tennis courts with flood-lighting, a jogging track, soccer field, table tennis, bicycles, a billiards room, volleyball courts, gymnastics, massages and felucca sailing. Book on-line. A bungalow room in mid-March can be had for US$165.00 instead of the usual US$230.00. The main Restaurant (The Jolie Ville ) is good for Breakfast (comes with the room rate), but the dinner Buffet is expensive. You are better off eating at the alternative Italian Restaurant adjacent to The Jolie Ville. The Shehrazade terrace has drinks, BBQ, sandwich and ice cream, pizza, and serves lunch and dinner with an excellent Nile view. The only negative to the Movinpic is that most (not all) of the front desk people have limited English skills, so communications can be slow and difficult. They do not have a concierge, so you are on you own if you want to book tours to the East or West Bank Temples.
Contact
Phone
Luxor town has 3 telephone offices, allowing travellers to avoid the often hefty charges levied by hotels and mobile carriers for international phone calls.
The main telephone office is located on Sharia Karnak, adjacent to the souqs and almost opposite the Emilio Hotel. It is conveniently open 24 hours a day. Another, smaller branch can be found below the grand sweeping entrance to the Old Winter Palace Hotel on the Corniche (open 0800-2000); whilst a third telephone office exists at the railway station (open 0800-2000).
Internet
There is no shortage of venues in Luxor town to access the internet for email and browsing - the last few years have seen shops and food outlets both great and small venture into cyberspace, as a new form of cottage industry. Shop around for the best deal.
Post
Luxor town's main post office is located on Sharia al-Mahatta, not far from the intersection with Sharia al-Karnak. Open 0830-1430 daily.
A smaller post office branch can be found in the Tourist Bazaar.
Cope
Visa extensions
The Luxor passport office is located south of the town centre, virtually opposite the Isis Hotel, open Saturday - Thursday, 8 am 8 pm. Rumour has it that visa extensions are far easier to acquire at this office than in Cairo.
