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History of the Avenue of Sphinxes
The Avenue of Sphinxes began being built during the New Kingdom era during the ruling period of the great Queen Hatshepsut, along with seven other shrines that unfortunately have not stood the test of time. You can say that Hatshepsut was something of a prolific builder. However, this massive undertaking would not be done in a lifetime or even two. The construction of the Avenue of Sphinxes went until the Late Period during the rule of 30th Dynasty pharaoh Nectanebo I. The ruler decided that he wanted to expand the original structure and build the long, almost 3-kilometer road that exists today, surrounded by stone sphinxes on both sides. Not all of the 10,000 sphinxes have human heads, though. There are a few that actually feature Ram’s heads.
Eventually, after years of glory, the avenue was covered by heavy layers of sand with the passing of the centuries. Back in the late 19th century, in 1983, Georges Daressy described the Avenue of Sphinxes as being completely buried and that there would be no way to unearth it because it lies below the groundwater level. At the time, he also reported that Karnak had almost a kilometer of it visible to the eye.
The first ever trace of the avenue of Sphinxes was uncovered back in 1949 at the hands of renowned Egyptian archaeologist Mohammed Zakaria Ghoneim. The discovery was initially eight statues close by to the Luxor Temple. Later on, as technology advanced and they dug more around the excavation site, they found 17 more, then eventually 55 more within a pretty small area. From the mid-1980s until the beginning of the 21st century, experts, historians, and archeologists worked to uncover the full length and route of the road until they were able to map out the whole thing. Once they knew what the full route was, they finally opened the doors to excavations, and the work began on discovering over 1000 sphinx statues over the years. This is a whopping number that continues to astonish people today.
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Restoration Works and the Grand Reopening of the Avenue of Sphinxes
Although it is kind of difficult to imagine that such a huge and important historic site like this could have ever been completely buried under dirt, for centuries it was completely hidden underneath the urban landscape of the modern city of Luxor. It was swallowed up by the elements and basically abandoned until it completely disappeared without a trace.
Thankfully, at the end of 2011, the Egyptian authorities, along with the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, made the announcement that the renovation works had finally been completed and would eventually open its doors again for public visitations in a grand ceremony. Almost a decade later, in November of 2021, the Avenue of Sphinxes was finally opened to public viewing as promised after the conclusion of more than 70 years of restoration works. The grand parade that celebrated its reopening was lavish and spectacular, and one that will go down in history. The parade featured people dressed in pharaonic clothing, an orchestra, extraordinary lighting effects, professional performers, and dancers, accompanied by a number of boats floating along the Nile, horse-drawn carriages, and an amazing fireworks show that illuminated the Karnak Temple in brilliant colors and lights.
The event was curated by a talented team over at the German University in Cairo and was a great success, with many officials as well as the president of Egypt attending. It was broadcast all over Egypt and the world with the more than 1000 statues and massive road celebrated globally to a massive audience. It spells out the full story of ancient Egyptian history as one of Egypt’s largest open-air museums. It dates back to the 2000 BC era, making it one of the oldest still surviving ancient Egyptian structures.
Paying a Visit to the Avenue of Sphinxes Today
In today’s age, the site is completely open, and tourists have the full capacity to walk the entire three kilometers between the Karnak and Luxor temples. You will find that a number of the sphinxes have been damaged over time with different parts chipped or completely missing. However, almost all the pedestals remain, which is a testament to the high quality material used and the skilled craftsmanship of the people who built it. One of the most spectacular discoveries to come out of this is the royal seal of Cleopatra here. This means that she actually payed a visit to the temple during her road up the Nile with her lover Marc Antony. Be sure to ask your guide to show it to you if they don’t already point it out.
The best way to get there from Cairo is by flight. This is the most efficient and time-saving path. You can also opt to travel by train from Cairo. You can also hop on a Nile river cruise between Luxor and Aswan, where you can discover more than just the Avenue of Sphinxes but also a bunch of other ancient Egyptian sites along the Nile.
Now Visit the Top Attractions of Luxor with Nile Cruise Vacation!
