Em hotep, distinguished guests of Pharaoh. Di ankh Re mi djet! May you be given life, like Re, eternally. Welcome to the Two Lands. For those of you just joining our tour, my name is Sankh-ka-re Thutmose. I'll be your guide as we visit the Temple of Luxor in Waset. For those who were with me on the tour through Karnak, welcome back. Please forgive me if I should repeat myself, but there may be things our new visitors need to know.
As I mentioned on our last tour, we are standing in the middle of Waset of the Hundred Gates. Waset, better known to our Greek and Roman friends as Thebes, was the capital of Egypt for nearly half of the empire's existence — the most glorious half, some would say. Here Thutmose III planned the campaigns that conquered Nubia and brought Mesopotamia all the way to modern day Iraq under his dominion. In these streets, Amenhotep IV set into motion steps that would end with the banishment of the gods and a pharaoh renamed Akhenaten. Here, Ramses II began the building projects that would eventually cover the country in temples. No other city, save perhaps Mennefer (also known as Memphis) could ever compare to Waset's wealth and size.
Many thanks to Bithiah Nebet for the Spanish translation of these pages.