The two gigantic statues portray King Amenhotep III seated and having his hands resting on his knees facing East towards the Nile River, Another two figures but shorter in size –for his wife Tiye and his mother Mutemwiya- are sculptured at the front throne near his legs, and a scene for Hapi, the Nile god is carved at the side panels.
Two incredible massive statues of the Pharaoh Amenhotep III are now known as the Colossi of Memnon. This Pharaoh who ruled Egypt during the 18th Dynasty and known as Amenhotep the Magnificent, gave his Kingdom an epoch of prosperity and wealth in many fields, economically and artistic grandeur that Egypt had never seen before.
The two gigantic statues in Luxor portray King Amenhotep III seated and having his hands resting on his knees facing East towards the Nile River, Another two figures but shorter in size for his wife Queen Tiye and his mother Mutemwiya are sculptured at the front throne near his legs, and a scene for Hapi, the Nile god is carved at the side panels.
Those statues are built out of blocks of quartzite sandstone that were quarried from the Red Mountain near Cairo and had been transported 675 km overland to Thebes (Luxor nowadays). The stones are believed to be very heavy to be transported on the Nile and the blocks used by later engineers to rebuild the northern statue may have been quarried from Edfu at the North of Aswan.
The two colossal statues are in a bad condition but you cannot miss a visit to such enormous twin statues when you visit Luxor through one of our Egypt Travel Packages or Egypt Day Tours.
Have a blissful tour to the East and West bank of Luxor if you’re planning any tours to Egypt.
Both of the two statues look a lot identical, though, they differ in small details and inscriptions from each other. They stood at this specific place to function as guardians to the entrance of Amenhotep’s mortuary temple which the Pharaoh himself constructed the temple to be worshipped on Earth before and after his departure from this world. The mortuary temple of Amenhotep III used to be the biggest and widest at its time that even Karnak Temple itself did not get to compete with Amenhotep’s mortuary Temple which was covering a total of 35 hectares (86 acres).
Explore the great Colossi of Memnon and other Eastern and Western Banks sites in Luxor and amazing things to do in Egypt by reserving one of our Luxor Day Tours and Excursions or Egypt Day Tours and Shore Excursions in Egypt, and of course our variety of Egypt Nile Cruise Tours:
A rich Overnight Tour to Luxor from Cairo by Flight An unforgettable Overnight Tour to Luxor from Cairo by Flight A delightful Luxor Hot Air Balloon Ridewhile you can have spectacular views of the entire city of Thebes, Luxor.
A Day Trip to Luxor from Sharm El Sheikhfrom our collection of Sharm El Sheikh Day Tours and Excursions Our selection of Hurghada Day Tours too didn’t miss a Luxor Day Tours from Hurghadaor 2 Days Trip to Luxor from Hurghada Luxor Day Trip from Dahab by Flight, Luxor Tour from Marsa Alamor certainly, if you want to select from Egypt Day Tours in Tababy a Luxor Day Trip from Taba by Flight And you can traverse Aswan Day Tours, Sightseeing and Excursions through the unusual Aswan to Luxor Day Trip Or from Egypt Travel Packageslike: Egypt Christmas and New Year Tours like a nice 5 Days Cairo and Luxor Holiday during the Christmas 5-Days Cairo and Alexandria Tour Package 5 Days Cairo and Luxor Vacation Egypt Luxury Customized Tours to Cairo & Nile Cruise Luxury Tour