Retreat hidden gems in Luxor who draws tourists who know

The house in Luxor seems to be trying to the sky, for as long as it is optimistic. From their roof, the brick column goes up to the sky, sprouting rebar by anticipating another layer of construction. Homeowners do not have to pay taxes on buildings that remain in progress, and many still hope that the fall may facilitate new additions. From 1570 to 1069 BC, the city is the capital of Egypt, and every pharaoh has embraced a new construction project in its extensive temple complex. For half a millennium, it was the center of civilization. Now, with the strength of new visitors, the city continues to grow.

In his heyday, Luxor was known as a stick of sticks. The king of the gods, Amon, is said to live there, along with the cult devoted to him. The Greeks then renamed the place of theBes -the name of the local temple, possibly. Today we mention it Luxor, from Arab Al-‘Uqsur, which means “palace.” My guide says that Luxor’s name is the root of which word luxurious grow. If this happens, the wide road runs along the cliff The river And the evidence of the incredible festivals that take place there -include a break along the parade route for the audience to take the wine -go a long way to explain why.

The continued developments from their temples to the Amon resulted in the Sandstone Luxor complex and the karnak on the east bank of the Nile, which remained amazing even today. As the Colossi did from Memnon, called because graffiti did not identify them as a statue of the Greek God Memnon, not Pharaoh Amenhotep III, which built them in his own image around 1350 BC

As with so many dynasty rulers, including his famous Tutankhamen grandchildren, Amenhotep III was colored in the west of Luxor, on a steep limestone cliff known as the King Valley -a site known as a tourist at least as far as Christ. This archaeological treasure has attracted visitors since -from early tourists from Greece to Roman Hadrian Emperor, who visited the second century, reached Roger Moore, who, as James Bond, said “The Spy Who Loved” in Luxor in the 1970s.

Perhaps the most famous fiction character to visit Luxor is Hercule Poirot, who, along with other actors, lives in the Grand Old Winter Palace Hotel before boarding the plane Sudan Steamship in TV Adjustment Agatha Christie’s “Death on the Nile. “ Christie’s story has been better for the tourism industry than the time of time: the famous winter palace and the famous parks on the east bank of the Nile today far from their glory day, though it is reported that these new changes in ownership will result in repairs. That may have to compete with four high -end seasons in construction next to it. The new highways and bridges on the Nile have also risen since the pandemic, and the small and large modifications seem to add the core to the city.

The wave of post-covid hidden demand, along with expectations for the Egyptian Grand Museum in Giza-which eventually opened its doors by the end of 2024-Meaning last year Egypt was one of the most sought after destinations in the world. In recent months, concerns about the conflict in Gaza spilled into Egypt have decreased, and the number of visitors is expected to grow higher by 2025.

If Poirot returned to the city today, he might find that the contemporary Demimonde -and those who followed his footsteps on the Nile from Luxor to ASWân, as I did to the west of the river. There, through a sugarcane farm on the west side of the city, sitting Al Moudira, in Arabic means “boss.” That’s the nickname of hotel founder Zeina Aboukheir, a Lebanese artist and designer Yang, in 1999, began building a series of Adobe Suites and Villas jumping in a walled park that later became a desert paste. Aboukheir remains a spirit of guiding Al Moudira, and today the hotel is a favorite of artists, musicians, and writers from around the world. They gather around the pool, in the yard, or in a tiled dining room for perch nil, moussaka, and recent obsession, restaurant Tomeya-A creamy garlic.

Fashion designer Rick Owens, entitled Fall 2023 “Luxor” collection and calls his winter city, is a regular guest in Al Moudira. “It was the closest thing I found to Chateau Marmont in the late eighties,” he told me. “Not tasty and large at the same time.”

Al Moudira also has a great guide. I took one of the best visits I remember with Ahmed Hammam, which took me past the colossi to the King Valley, then through the Luxor Temple. Finally, we walked on Sphinxes Road, a road connecting the luxor temples and a car filled with more than a thousand statues. It runs for almost two miles through the city center -though today, only ticket holders can access the most popular stretching.

Seeing from there, the Luxor Temple sandstone pillar went up to the open sky, patiently in the dusty light, pearl. The men in the elegant Djellabas they move the emerald sugar cane in the Gerobak drawn by the donkey or motorcycle. The woman in Candy-Hued Headscarves saw them from behind decorated tuk-. And the hurry of detailed tourists stepped into the city in a horse and air-conditioned van, looking forward to their trip to the Nile River, or, on their visit to the temples, to travel-in the same way-by time.

This version of the story first appeared in the May 2025 edition Travel + free time Under the headline “Style in the Nile River. “