# The Journal Source: https://luxor101.com/journal Language: en # Journal 16 articles to help you understand what you see and plan what comes next. Choose a question that interests you: how to read a temple, which tomb details to notice, or how to shape a day on either bank. These articles add context to the site guides. For tickets, hours and current access, check the official venue information before travelling. [ Explainer 3 min ## How to Read an Egyptian Temple Start with the route from gateway to court, columned hall and sanctuary. Then read one wall scene by identifying the figures, their actions and the surrounding inscriptions. Read the article](https://luxor101.com/journal/how-to-read-an-egyptian-temple)[ Planning 3 min ## Choosing Tombs in the Valley of the Kings Choose KV34 for its distinctive Amduat drawings if the demanding route suits you, KV17 for carved funerary scenes, or KV62 for Tutankhamun’s burial setting. Confirm which tombs are open and separately ticketed before choosing. Read the article](https://luxor101.com/journal/which-valley-of-the-kings-tombs) ## All articles ## History Why the thing in front of you is there at all. [ History 3 min ### Karnak: Finding Your Way Through the Layers Karnak grew through additions, rebuilding and reuse. Compare the western pylons, central obelisks and eastern Festival Hall; walking east does not follow a simple newest-to-oldest sequence. Read the article](https://luxor101.com/journal/karnak-in-the-order-it-was-built)[ History 3 min ### Why Pharaohs Stopped Building Pyramids New Kingdom kings at Thebes used rock-cut tombs and separate commemorative temples. Landscape, royal tradition and protecting the burial all help explain the change; no single surviving account settles why it happened. Read the article](https://luxor101.com/journal/why-pharaohs-stopped-building-pyramids)[ History 3 min ### Deir el-Medina: The Ancient Egyptian Village That Makes the Tombs Feel Human The writings from Deir el-Medina include work records, letters, accounts and religious texts. They reveal parts of a royal workforce’s lives, filtered through what people recorded and what survived. Read the article](https://luxor101.com/journal/what-the-workmen-wrote-down)[ History 3 min ### Hatshepsut: The Story to Know Before Visiting Deir el-Bahari Hatshepsut ruled with full royal titles alongside Thutmose III. Her royal names and images were attacked later; the pattern and timing complicate the familiar explanation of immediate personal revenge. Read the article](https://luxor101.com/journal/hatshepsut-and-the-erasure)[ History 3 min ### The procession that explains Luxor Temple The Opet festival connected Karnak and Luxor Temple through a journey of divine images and royal renewal. Read the article](https://luxor101.com/journal/the-procession-that-explains-luxor-temple)[ History 3 min ### Before You Visit the Valley of the Kings The Valley of the Kings is a royal burial ground with tombs that vary in route and decoration. Learn the difference between a burial chamber and funerary scenes, then choose a few tombs around your interests and access needs. Read the article](https://luxor101.com/journal/before-you-visit-the-valley-of-the-kings) ## Planning Decisions you make before you arrive, and what each one costs you. [ Planning 3 min ### Choosing Tombs in the Valley of the Kings Choose KV34 for its distinctive Amduat drawings if the demanding route suits you, KV17 for carved funerary scenes, or KV62 for Tutankhamun’s burial setting. Confirm which tombs are open and separately ticketed before choosing. Read the article](https://luxor101.com/journal/which-valley-of-the-kings-tombs) ## Comparison Options compared, with the reasons explained. [ Comparison 3 min ### Choosing a Nile Journey: Cruise Ship, Dahabiya or Felucca? Choose a cruise ship for cabins and a scheduled group itinerary, a dahabiya for a smaller cabin-based trip, or a felucca for time on an open sailing boat. Facilities and access depend on the actual vessel. Read the article](https://luxor101.com/journal/dahabiya-cruise-or-felucca)[ Comparison 3 min ### Is Tutankhamun’s Tomb Right for Your Visit? Choose KV62 if seeing Tutankhamun’s burial setting matters to you. It is small and its wall decoration is limited; the famous portable treasures are a separate museum visit. Check current admission before paying for an extra ticket. Read the article](https://luxor101.com/journal/is-tutankhamuns-tomb-worth-the-extra-ticket) ## Narrative What a place or a journey is actually like, described and not dramatised. [ Narrative 3 min ### Planning a Day on a Dahabiya A dahabiya day is shaped by sailing or towing, meals, shore visits and time on board. Ask for the actual daily plan: the balance changes with the itinerary and river conditions. Read the article](https://luxor101.com/journal/a-day-on-a-dahabiya)[ Narrative 3 min ### Luxor in Three Days Without Rushing It Group Karnak and Luxor Temple on one day, the Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut’s temple on another, and southern west-bank sites on a third. Keep a midday break and shorten any day that feels too full. Read the article](https://luxor101.com/journal/luxor-in-three-days-without-rushing-it) ## Explainer A framework you can reuse at the next temple without us. [ Explainer 3 min ### How to Read an Egyptian Temple Start with the route from gateway to court, columned hall and sanctuary. Then read one wall scene by identifying the figures, their actions and the surrounding inscriptions. Read the article](https://luxor101.com/journal/how-to-read-an-egyptian-temple)[ Explainer 3 min ### Reading the Colour That Survives Paint survives where materials and conditions have allowed it to remain, sometimes with conservation support. Weathering, salts, moisture and past interventions help explain losses; bright colour alone does not mean a wall is intact. Read the article](https://luxor101.com/journal/why-some-tombs-still-have-colour)[ Explainer 3 min ### What a Royal Commemorative Temple Was For Royal commemorative temples sustained worship and the king’s memory, during life and after death. At Thebes, they were separate from the royal tombs that held the burials. Read the article](https://luxor101.com/journal/what-a-mortuary-temple-was-for)[ Explainer 3 min ### Where the objects went Objects from Thebes are held in Luxor, elsewhere in Egypt and abroad. Each has its own history of discovery and movement; a museum label and object record can help you trace it. Read the article](https://luxor101.com/journal/where-the-objects-went)[ Explainer 3 min ### Reading Luxor Across the River The Nile helps you read ancient Thebes: the great temples stand east of the river, while royal cemeteries and commemorative temples spread west. But “east for the living, west for the dead” leaves out the people who lived and worked on the west bank. Read the article](https://luxor101.com/journal/east-bank-or-west-bank) ## Where this leads. [Ancient Egypt in 15 minutes](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/ancient-egypt-101) [Explore the tombs](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/tombs) [Explore the sites](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor) **Opening hours, ticket prices and tomb access change.** Published prices and hours carry an online source-check date where available. Field checks, current access and human editorial review remain separate; confirm arrangements before travelling.