Open-Air Museum

Luxor


Off to the left (north) of the first court of the Amun Temple Enclosure is Karnak’s open-air museum. The word 'museum' and the fact that there is so much else to see in Karnak means that most visitors skip this collection of stones, statues and shrines, but it is definitely worth a look.

The well-preserved chapels include the White Chapel of Sesostris I, one of the oldest and most beautiful monuments in Karnak, which has wonderful Middle Kingdom reliefs; the Red Chapel of Hatshepsut, its red quartzite blocks reassembled in 2000; and the Alabaster Chapel of Amenhotep I. The museum also contains a collection of statuary found throughout the temple complex. Buy the combo ticket at the main ticket office.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Luxor attractions

1. Amun Temple Enclosure

0.04 MILES

Amun-Ra was the local god of Karnak (Luxor) and during the New Kingdom, when the princes of Thebes ruled Egypt, he became the preeminent state god, with a…

2. Montu Temple Enclosure

0.08 MILES

Inside the Amun Temple Enclosure, there is a gate in the northern wall (on your left as you enter) near the Temple of Ptah. The gate, which is usually…

3. Karnak

0.14 MILES

Karnak is an extraordinary complex of sanctuaries, kiosks, pylons and obelisks dedicated to the Theban triad but also to the greater glory of pharaohs…

4. Mut Temple Enclosure

0.17 MILES

From the 10th pylon, an avenue of sphinxes leads to the partly excavated southern enclosure – the Precinct of Mut, consort of Amun. The Temple of Mut was…

5. Luxor Museum

1.15 MILES

This wonderful museum has a well-chosen and brilliantly displayed and explained collection of antiquities dating from the end of the Old Kingdom right…

6. Mummification Museum

1.59 MILES

Housed in the former visitors centre on Luxor’s corniche, the Mummification Museum has well-presented exhibits explaining the art of mummification. The…

7. Luxor Temple

1.72 MILES

Largely built by the New Kingdom pharaohs Amenhotep III (1390–1352 BC) and Ramses II (1279–1213 BC), this temple is a strikingly graceful monument in the…

8. Theban Community Library

1.8 MILES

The latest project from Professor Kent Weeks and the Theban Mapping Project is the first open library in Luxor, a free service with general books in…