|
The
Luxor Hotel & Casino opened in 1993 with its pyramid shaped hotel of 2,526 rooms.
The hotel added twin towers in 1998 bringing its room count to
4,408, making it the nation's second-largest hotel. The Luxor houses an authentic reproduction of King Tutankhamun's
tomb. The measurements of each of the rooms are exact. The treasures therein were reproduced by artisans using the same gold leaf and linens, precious pigments, tools and original 3,300-year-old
methods. Each is meticulously positioned according to the records maintained by the Carter expedition.
The exhibit houses hundreds of reproductions, including the world-famous guardian statues, King Tut's sarcophagus, and an array of statues, vases, beds, baskets and pottery.
NOTE: Being the Egypt-aholic that I am, I have to point out the fact that the
real Sphinx and Pyramids are actually located at
Giza, not Luxor, in
Egypt.
Please
click on the thumbnails below to see pictures of the Luxor.
Use your browser's Back button to return to this page.
The Luxor’s Sphinx in front of the 350 foot
pyramid hotel. |
The expansion of the Luxor included this 22-story ziggurat-shaped structure to the north of the main
pyramid, adjacent to the Excalibur.
|
|
|
In 1997 the pyramid’s edges were illuminated with 3,000 strobe
lights and the world's brightest beacon was installed at the tip of the pyramid.
|
The
Sphinx at night.
|
|
|
The
Sphinx at night with the beacon's light seeming
to issue forth from the Sphinx's uraeus
headdress. |
Anubis
statue near the main entrance of the Luxor.
|
|
|
The
Luxor's talking camels. |
View
of the Pharaoh's
Pavilion, the World's Largest
Atrium, from our balcony on the 21st floor
of the pyramid.
|
|
|
The
Pharaoh's Pavilion, located one level above the Casino,
boasts shopping, dining, rides and attractions. |
The
pyramid within the Luxor. This pyramid is a
big "oops" in the authenticity of
the Luxor. This is not an Egyptian pyramid (see Giza
and Dashur
to see Egyptian pyramids). Egyptian pyramids do not
have built-in steps nor do they have a platform at the top. This
is a Mayan style pyramid.
|
|
|
Just
inside the lobby, the casino's rendition of the Great
Temple of Ramesses II rises 35 feet into the
world's largest atrium. Measuring 29 million
cubic feet, the atrium is home to the world's
strongest beam of light, which shines into the
sky from atop the pyramid. Inside,
"inclinators" (top of the picture) zip
guests up 30 stories at a 39-degree angle to
their rooms. |
An
Abbreviated Egypt Timeline from 3100 to 2134 BCE.
|
|
|
An
Abbreviated Egypt Timeline from 1473 to 1224 BCE. |
An
Abbreviated Egypt Timeline from 50 BCE to 1922
CE.
|
|
|
King
Tut's Tomb is a museum replica of the tomb as it
was found by Howard Carter in 1922. |
The
Canopic
Shrine dominated the middle of the Treasury's
east wall.
|
|
|
The
Burial Chamber was the only room in the tomb
with any decoration. The decoration occupies all
four walls. The south wall depicts the king,
wearing the bag-shaped khat-headdress,
being welcomed into the realm of the underworld
by Hathor, principle goddess of the west. Behind
the king stands the embalmer god, Anubis. Behind
him stands Isis and behind her sit three minor deities
of the underworld. The opening in the south wall
leads into the Antechamber. |
The
east wall of the Burial Chamber depicts the
mummified king, lying supine within a tall,
garland-bedecked shrine, being dragged by five
groups of men dressed in white and wearing white
mourning bands upon their brows. The opening in the
east wall leads into the Treasury. The entrance to The
Treasury was dominated by a
majestic image of the jackal god Anubis, lord of the west.
mounted upon a shrine equipped with carrying
poles.
|
|
|
The
Annex contained pottery wine-jars, alabaster
vessels containing oils and unguents, baskets of
fruit and assorted furniture - boxes, stools,
chairs, bedsteads, etc. |
The
Antechamber. A pair of guardian statues guard
the entrance into the burial chamber. The two
statues are life-sized figures of the king in black,
gold kilted, gold sandaled, armed with mace and
staff, with the protective sacred cobra upon their
foreheads.
|
|
|
|
|