History:

The ancient city of Luxor was the pearl of the old Egyptian empire. Holding over 80% of the     country’s ancient treasures it is commonly referred to as “the world’s largest open air museum”

            Deriving its name from the Arabic word for palace, “Al-Uqusur”, Luxor became a treasure chest for the pharaoh’s wealth collected from campaigns in Kush, Phoenicia, and Syria. Marching relatively unchecked throughout the Middle East and Africa, Luxor quickly grew to represent the epitome of extravagance and high society.  

            Luxor rose to become the cultural and learning center of the ancient world, from the Babylonians, the Mitanni, the Hittites of Anatolia, the Canaanites of Ugarit, the Phoenicians of Byblos and Tyre, the Minoans from the island of Crete, and the Greeks of Mycenae, all came to indulge themselves in the majesty of Luxor.

            Holding the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens, Luxor was Ancient Egypt’s most prized piece of land. The remains of past Pharaohs lied across the arid desert, making it the holiest of sites to the priests of Egypt.

            Luxor truly became the palace of the Western and Eastern world. Known to the Greek’s as Thebes, Luxor began its slow decline right after Ramses III conquered the sea people of the Mediterranean. This decline came to a hault when the Assyrian Emperor Assurbanipal invaded and removed the corrupt priests and dynasties set up over the years of Luxor’s wealth. By doing so, they integrated the great city into the empire’s commercial networks, set up by the Persian kings to keep their vast empire together.

            Even while apart of the Assyrian Empire, the city of Luxor remained distinctly Egyptian, and distinctly beautiful and powerful, a tribute noted by the one of Greek’s greatest philosophers, Herodotus, who made his most famous speeches at the One Hundred Gates of Luxor.

            Luxor’s attractiveness was not lost on one of the world’s most dominant military mind, Alexander the Great. Even though it was technically in decline, the arts and science in the region remained the most advanced in the world, fueled by the exchange of Alexander’s Greek philosophers and the knowledge of the Africans and Arabs.

            Now Luxor’s majesty can be sampled any day of the week in Southwest Arizona, from the Hummus and Shawerma of the Northern and Eastern Mediterranean, to the Koshari and Falafel of Egypt, the Luxor Café’s selections spans just as wide as the old Egyptian Empire. Now this amazing cuisine can be had without the harsh environment of the Sahara desert.