Luxor is a city in Upper (southern) Egypt and the capital of Luxor Governorate As the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of Thebes Luxor has frequently been characterized as the world's greatest open-air museum as the ruins of the temple complexes at Karnak and Luxor stand within the modern city Immediately opposite across the River Nile lie the monuments temples and tombs of the West Bank Necropolis, which includes the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens