Luxor

Egypt

Things to do in Luxor:

Luxor Restaurants

Affordable (15)

Bus Station Cafeteria

Just by the ferry, go past all the little minibuses and at the end you will find this caf� offering amazing value, freshly cooked local food and something different every day. No menu, but at 15LE... read more
Fine dining (17)

The King and Thai at the Fortune Cookie

Although they've just opened, they will move locations once established. From the owner of Taste of India, The King and Thai has its own Thai chef and a full Thai menu including green curry - a... read more

Luxor Nightlife

Chilled (13)

Shisha Cafe

The hubble-bubble waterpipe, or shisha, is popular with tourists. Apple tobacco is the most commonly requested, although the new Red Bull tobacco is certainly giving it a run for its money. Watch... read more
Clubbing (14)

The King's Head

The perfect late-night venue with billiards, satellite TV, pub food, beer and cocktails. It closes when you leave. read more

This Month in Luxor:

By Jane Akshar

Shopping: A new dress shop has opened at the west bank crossroads. You can get some good bargains here, much better than at the souk. This is sequin paradise and you can get a great, figure-flattering ladies' galabeya. A lot of black ones with embroidered details and some colourful and bright, floor length dresses. It's on the first floor, so just look up when you turn towards the Nile and there it is.

Key areas: There are tombs you can visit at Deir el Bahri after your visit to the temple. Pabasa is from the time when the God's Wives of Amun ruled Thebes. These powerful ladies have chapels at Karnak, Medinet Habu and elsewhere. Pabasa was a chief steward of Nitocris, from the Saite period. You get an idea of the power of these ladies by the size of their servant's tombs. The scenes show bee-keeping, fish preparation and wine-making.

Luxor News & Gossip

Egyptian Christmas

HURGHADA, LUXOR, SHARM EL SHEIKH

Christmas happens on 25 December, right? Not in Egypt, where the Coptic Orthodox Church celebrates Jesus's birth two weeks later. So, those who aren't satisfied with one big day, can enjoy a second, sunny one...

1 Egypt uses three calendars: the Islamic, the Coptic and the Western. The Coptic calendar has 13 months in its year.
2 Coptics consider St Mark their first pope. His cathedral is in Cairo, where services are mainly held in the Coptic language.
3 It was only in December 2002 that Coptic Christmas officially became a public holiday in Egypt.
4 Christmas trees are as much a part of Coptic Christmas as their Western counterpart. In fact, Christmas trees actually originate in Egypt.
5 Services are held on the eve of 7 January and a special bread is given out. It's decorated with a cross and 12 dots to represent Jesus's disciples.
6 On Christmas morning, children are given a gift of money to buy sweets.

Luxor Trivia

May: My big fat Egyptian wedding ought to be filmed in Luxor. Some of the dresses in the bride shops are massive and coated in diamant�. The bride goes along with her girlfriends and spends hours being pampered and polished. Often, this is the only time her hair will be seen in public. If you smoke, don't get too close, as at least one can of hair spray is used for each girl. The groom then arrives and they pose for photos and a party ensues. The legal bit would have been done days or even months earlier.
April: Snow! The 2011/12 winter was so cold that snow actually fell on Alexandria. Even Luxor got down to a mere three degrees Celsius at night.
March: March is the windy time in Luxor. In fact, you might even see rain! They say that the wind, called the khumaseen, blows for 50 days. The wind whips up the sand, which gets into every crack, and sometimes sandstorms obscure the landscape.