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In the ancient city of Thebes (modern-day Luxor), the eastern bank of the Nile was known for the temples of Luxor and Karnak, and the western bank was reserved for the land of the dead, including mortuary temples and the tombs in the Valley of the Kings, among others. The first temple that we visited on our day trip to western Thebes was the temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu. This is what you see from the parking lot when you arrive (note the wooden ticket booth in the lower right). We are looking at the Guardian Gate and the South Gate (Royal Pavilion), complete with scenes of battles and prisoners being offered to the gods. Behind this building was a large courtyard ending in a big pylon, behind which was the rest of the temple.
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This is a shot of inside the temple at Medinet Habu. One thing that I remember about this site was that off to the side of the buildings the tour guide pointed out the royal toilet "facilities", which was something that we saw no where else in our travels. No particularly impressive or important, but for some reason it comes to mind when I think about this site.
The square-sided columns in this area of Medinet Habu still had intact artwork,
complete with reminants of the ancient colored paint.
More artwork from a wall in the temple.
