The town of Luxor, the great tourist center of Upper Egypt, Iies on the right bank of the Nile in an extensive depression bounded on the east by the rock walls of the Eastern Desert Plateau. The modern town occupies part of the area of the ancient Egyptian capital of Thebes, which extended much farther north beyond the temples of Karnak, with
its necropolis on the west bank of the Nile reaching far into the hills of the Western Desert. The present name is derived from the Arabic El-Qusur (the "Palaces": plural form of El-Qasr) referring to the mighty temple which was occupied until the end of the 19th century by the houses of the village.
The town's main traffic artery is the Shari el-Bahr el-Nil, the corniche road, with the landing-stage used by the Nile cruise ships and the cross-river ferries, which runs north and south from the temple. Between the temple and the river are the remains of a Roman forum. To the south are the Winter Palace and New Winter Palace Hotels, and in the immediate vicinity of the temple the Tourist Bazaar, shops, banks and travel agencies. To the north of the temple are other hotels and the Museum. On the eastern outskirts of the town is the station; to the northeast, outside the town, the airport.
To the north of Luxor is the great temple complex of Karnak, reached in ancient times through the streets of the city but now approached by a broad tree-lined avenue. Even in the time of the Pharaohs the Temple of Amun, the chief god of Thebes, was regarded as the finest creation of an age rich in architectural achievement. To the north, at Medu, present-day Medamut, was another group of temples.
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