Of all the archaeological sites I’ve visited in Egypt, one of my absolute favorites is the magnificent temple at Luxor, particularly after the sun has gone down. It’s impressive enough in the daylight, but the nighttime illumination adds warmth to the stone, and the shadows bring the intricately carved hieroglyphics into sharper contrast. With the golden tones of the temple juxtaposed against a deep blue early-evening sky, the effect is magical. The tiny crescent moon rising over the temple on the night when I took this photo was a nice bonus.

Luxor Temple was built by the 18th-dynasty pharaoh Amenhotep III during his lengthy reign (1390-1352 B.C.), one of the golden ages of ancient Egypt. Amenhotep III was one of Egypt’s great builder-pharaohs; the other, Ramses II, came later (1279-1213 B.C.) and ruled for even longer, living,  it is believed, to the venerable age of 92. Known as Ramses the Great, he built prolifically all over Egypt (including the magnificent funerary temples at Abu Simbel, my other favorite Egyptian site), erected countless colossal statues of himself , and put his own stamp on Luxor Temple, expanding and adapting Amenhotep’s original. The two imposing entrance pylons in the photo were Ramses’ doing (and are covered with reliefs depicting his deeds in battle), as were the six statues (two seated and four standing) and two obelisks that originally flanked the entrance. One of the obelisks and two of the statues were later removed by the French; the obelisk now stands in the Place de la Concorde in Paris.