Karnak Temple Built over two millennia between the years of around 2200 and 360 BCE, Karnak is a massive Ancient Egyptian temple complex that was one of the country's most important places of worship under the rules of Hatshepsut, Seti I, Ramesses II and Ramesses III. As well as the dominating Temple of Amun-Ra, Karnak is also made up of smaller chapels and sanctuaries dedicated to other deities, as well as grand halls, docks, a sacred lake. and pylons - the monumental gateways that mark temple entrances.

Luxor Temple Luxor Temple, Ipet‑resyt “Southern Sanctuary” to the ancient Egyptians, was so called because of its location within ancient Thebes (modern Luxor). It is located around three kilometers to the south of Karnak Temple, to which it was once linked with a processional way bordered with sphinxes. The oldest evidence for this temple dates to the Eighteenth Dynasty (c.1550–1295 BC).

The Valley of the Kings The rulers of the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties of Egypt’s prosperous New Kingdom (c.1550–1069 BC) were buried in a desolate dry river valley across the river from the ancient city of Thebes (modern Luxor), hence its modern name of the Valley of the Kings. This moniker is not entirely accurate, however, since some members of the royal family aside from the king were buried here as well, as were a few non-royal, albeit very high-ranking, individuals.

Hatshepsut Temple Hatshepsut (c.1473–1458 BC), the queen who became Pharaoh, built a magnificent temple at Deir al-Bahari, on the west back of Luxor. It lies directly across the Nile from Karnak Temple, the main sanctuary of the god Amun. Hatshepsut’s temple, Djeser-djeseru “the Holy of Holies” was designed by the chief steward of Amun, Senenmut.

Colossi of Memnon These two faceless colossi (the plural of colossus, which just means larger-than-life statue) are the first thing visitors see when they reach the west bank of the Nile opposite Luxor. This isn't surprising when you hear their dimensions: they tower 60 feet (18 m) above the plains and are estimated to weigh an enormous 720 tons each.

Philae Temples This beautiful temple complex is one of the most picturesque in all of Egypt. It sits on Aglika Island just south of the old Aswan Dam and you must ride a water taxi to the island to get to the ruins. The temple was moved to its current location following the construction of the High Dam, which threatened to submerge it permanently. The careful reconstruction at the current site carefully completed, painstakingly preserving the original appearance and layout of the complex and even landscaping the island to match its former location.

The High Dam When construction began on the High Dam in 1960, it was the most heralded part of President Gamal Abdel Nasser’s effort to develop Egypt for all Egyptians. While the dam is certainly not the largest in the world, it is an impressive engineering feat nonetheless, over 360 feet tall and 12,500 feet across. The dam was completed in 1971 and the huge reservoir behind it, named for President Nasser, finished filling in 1979.

The Unfinished Obelisk The Unfinished Obelisk is a rare opportunity to consider what this process might have been like and just how difficult it was to shape and carve the great stone blocks that make up Egypt’s many monuments. This huge obelisk would have stood 140 feet in height, the largest even in Egypt. It was to be carved from the Red Aswan granite that decorate many of Egypt’s greatest monument and for which the city is famous. This greatest of all of Egypt’s monoliths, however, was never finished. At a late stage in its formation, a flaw in the rock was discovered and it was abandoned. As a result, it remains in one of Aswan’s ancient quarries, fully formed and carved on three sides, but still anchored to the bedrock on the fourth. Archeologists believe that this obelisk was intended for Karnak, but instead it has remained in the quarry, a curious testament to the difficulties of carving in stone, for the last several thousand years