Luxor Temple

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'Tutankhamun and his tomb

Tut’ankhamun (Nebkhepruré) (d. 1323 B.C.E.) Twelfth
ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty and the most famous
pharaoh of Egypt
He reigned from 1333 B.C.E. until his untimely death. The
most popular pharaoh in modern times because of the
discovery of his tomb, he was probably the son of AKHENATEN.
As the successor of SMENKHARÉ, he was only eight
or nine at his succession. He was married to ANKHESENAMON,
the third daughter of NEFERTITI and Akhenaten, and
for a time the young couple remained at ’AMARNA. Then
they moved to MEMPHIS and refurbished the apartments
of AMENHOTEP III at THEBES for their use. He had abandoned
his ATEN name by his fourth regnal year.
The RESTORATION STELA, which dates to this period,
gives an account of Tut’ankhamun’s efforts to stabilize
the government and to restore the temples and cultic
rites of the old gods of Egypt after the ’Amarna period.
He even subsidized new priests and the palace staff from
his own pocket. It is believed that AYA (2) was one of his
counselors at the time, and he probably suggested the
reform measures. Tut’ankhamun had been given the
name Tut’ankhaten, but assumed his new name as part of
the restoration of the old ways. He also moved some of
the bodies of the royal family from ’Amarna to Thebes, as
evidenced by a cache of royal jewelry apparently stolen
during the reburial and then hidden in the royal wadi
area.

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Cairo

Cairo,

officially al-Qahirah but popularly and normally referred to as Misr (pron. Masr), the capital of the Arab Republic of Egypt. The city occupies a triangular plain with the narrowest point to the S on the East Bank of the River Nile where the Muqattam Hills make their closest approach to the river.

 In Cairo the older areas in the main still retain their medieval form, and many of the streets are known from descriptions of them given by early chroniclers. The Ottomans made little contribution to the design of the city but during the 19C it expanded and developed at an unprecedented rate.

The newer areas thus have much in common with European cities in general and specific areas with French or English town planning in particular. The architecture, however, is a combination of Ottoman and European elements, commercial building owing more to the latter, especially in the city centre. 

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