Madinet Habu Temple

While it is not one of the most visited sites on the West Bank of Luxor, many visitors consider Medinat Habu Temple to be one of the most impressive sights they see in Luxor. This temple complex has been well preserved, especially when compared to the Ramesseum, on which it is based.

While the Ramesseum was built by a more famous pharaoh (Ramesses II), Medinat Habu, built by Ramesses III, is a far more impressive sight, with its pylon and many of its walls still intact and much more of the original painting visible on its carved surfaces.

Ramesses III (reigned 1184—1153 BC) was Egypt’s last great pharaoh. Following his reign, Egypt began a long period of decline that resulted in it being ruled by foreign powers for the majority of its history following the New Kingdom. After Ramesses II stretched the empire to its utmost, the pressure of invasion threats from multiple borders proved too much.
Ramesses III was the last pharaoh to be credited with major construction projects, the largest of which was this temple complex.

During his reign, Madinet Habu served as a walled city, with the temple and administrative center inside the walls, protecting the people of the area during difficult times. Later, the complex was transformed into a walled town for Coptic Christians who lived nearby.
The temple’s first impression is imposing, as you enter through a massive stone gate that seems out of place in Egypt. It is a Ptolemaic addition to the complex that conceals the complex’s main feature behind it—the Temples of Ramesses III, with its towering pylon and relief carvings depicting the king defeating Egypt’s rivals from Libya and the Sea Peoples.

The temples continue into several courtyards with well-preserved reliefs and columns, many with their original coloring, leading to a final hypostyle hall.

you can visit Madinet Habu Temple during your Nile Cruise trip between Aswan and Luxor with Al Sahel Travel.