Temples and Tombs of the Egyptians
Another Article on the Ancient Buildings of the Nile Country.
BY GIDEON A. LYON
Photographs by the Author
RETURNING to Luxor from the west bank of the Nile, after visiting the tombs and temples of the ancient “City of the Dead,” one sees in its fullest proportions the Temple of Luxor, earliest, it is believed, of the great religious structures of the east bank. It presents from this point of view more the aspect of an architectural unit than dees its greater and more celebrated neighbor, the Temple of Karnak. Yet it is sadly ruined and is, more over, marred by the intrussion within its very precincts of a mosque that, standing on higher ground, dominates the scene with its incongruous outlines.
According to accepted hypothesis, ancient Thebes, on the east bank, was regarded as the city of the living, while the Thebes of the west bank was known as the city of the dead. Thus the tombs are on the west bank, while the temples, with a few exceptions, such as the Der el-Bahri, the Medinet Habu and the Ramesseum, are on the east side of the river. Western Thebes was a necropolis, while Eastern Thebes was the city of splendor, of ceremony, of wealth, of active power.
