Luxor, known as al-Uqsur in Arabic, is a city in Upper Egypt and the capital of Luxor Governorate, Egypt. Luxor was the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of Waset, which the Greeks called Thebes, and which served as the capital of Upper Egypt during the New Kingdom. Thebes was destroyed by the Assyrian emperor Ashurbanipal in 663 BC and destroyed during a failed priestly revolt against the Ptolemies in 91 BC, but the temple complex at Karnak and the Luxor Temple survived the city's destruction. Thebes remained a site of spirituality up to the Christian era, when numerous monasteries were established near the city. Following the Arab conquest of Egypt, Thebes was renamed to al-Uqsur, meaning "the palaces," referencing its ancient ruins. The city came to be known as the "world's greatest open-air museum" for the location of Karnak and Luxor within the city and the Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, Medinet Habu, and several other monuments on the west bank of the Nile. Luxor became a major tourist destination during the 20th century, and, by 2020, Luxor had a population of 1,333,309 people. Luxor's economy is heavily dependend on tourism, and it is the only Egyptian city to offer hot air balloon rides. The city also has a large agricultural sector, particularly sugarcane and pottery.
