Thebes, Egypt

Thebes

Waset طيبة Θῆβαι
Pillars of the Great Hypostyle Hall, in The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, and Nubia
Shown within Egypt
Location	Luxor, Luxor Governorate, Egypt
Region	Upper Egypt
Coordinates	25°43′14″N 32°36′37″E / 25.72056°N 32.61028°E / 25.72056; 32.61028
Type	Settlement
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis
Type	Cultural
Criteria	I, III, VI
Designated	1979 (3rd session)
Reference no.	87
Region	Egypt

Thebes (Arabic: طيبة, Ancient Greek: Θῆβαι, Thēbai), known to the ancient Egyptians as Waset, was an ancient Egyptian city located along the Nile about 800 kilometers (500 mi) south of the Mediterranean. Its ruins lie within the modern Egyptian city of Luxor. Thebes was the main city of the fourth Upper Egyptian nome (Sceptre nome) and was the capital of Egypt for long periods during the Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom eras. It was close to Nubia and the Eastern Desert, with its valuable mineral resources and trade routes. It was a religious center and the most venerated city during many periods of ancient Egyptian history. The site of Thebes includes areas on both the eastern bank of the Nile, where the temples of Karnak and Luxor stand and where the city was situated; and the western bank, where a necropolis of large private and royal cemeteries and funerary complexes can be found. In 1979, the ruins of ancient Thebes were classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.^[1]