The Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada and the Khafre at Giza

The Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada and the Khafre at Giza

The ominous green light beams upward piercing the Las Vegas sky. This laser, the brightest artificial light on Earth, beckons curious seekers to its base, a thirty story replica of the Egyptian pyramid of Khafre at Giza. Khafre's Pyramid, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, gives an understanding of the Egyptian culture over 4000 years age. Located within the spectacular city of Las Vegas, Nevada, the Luxor Hotel and Casino creates a bridge between ancient Egyptian architecture with futuristic technology.

Completed on October 15, 1993, the Luxor Hotel gives its patrons a taste of ancient Egypt. With 600 feet on each side at the base, this huge building contains 2,526 rooms, seven restaurants, and a casino. The inside is lavishly decorated with many reproductions of Egyptian artifacts and paintings giving the hotel a sense of antiquity. The outside of the Luxor is just as magnificent. Encased in bronze reflective glass, the 2,526 rooms, slanted at a 49 degree angle, overlook the center atrium of the pyramid. The tip of the structure is golden. Just adjacent to the pyramid is a full size replica of the Great Sphinx with green lasers shooting out from its eyes. To top off the magnificence, the Luxor's "River Nile" meanders throughout the building. The river is "a 1600 foot long, 18 inch deep, concrete-lined indoor" waterway that holds "400,000 gallons of moving water on a suspended slab structure over inhabited space." This river takes guests of the hotel first to the registration desk and then anywhere throughout the structure. This $375 million project took just eighteen months to build with 1800 workers working around the clock. The Luxor Hotel and Casino is ...

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... one of the Seven Wonders of the World; and in so doing, came very close. Just looking at either of these two pieces, one can only stand in awe of the magnificence and perfection created by their builders.

In conclusion, having been to and admired both of these works of art, I can only stress my appreciation and awe of Egyptian architecture. The beauty and perfection marked with a dot of simplicity is breath-taking. I can only hope to visit these majestic building again losing myself in Egyptian culture.

Bibliography

Manning, Gregory. "Perini Builds a New Las Vegas," Engineering News Record, January 1994: 44.

Smith, E. Baldwin. Egyptian Architecture. New York: D. Appleton-Century Company, 1938.

Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History. Volume one. New York: Prentice Hall, Inc., 1995.

Young, Peter A., "Howard Carter In Luxorland," Archaeology, April 1994: 72.