Thebes (, Thebai), known to the ancient Egyptians as Waset, was an ancient Egyptian city located east of the Nile about south of the Mediterranean. Its ruins lie within the modern Egyptian city of Luxor. Karnak and the necropolis of ancient Thebes lie nearby on the Nile's west bank. Waset was a Scepter nome, and it was the main city of the fourth Upper Egyptian nome. It was close to Nubia and the eastern desert, with their valuable mineral resources and trade routes. The site of Thebes includes areas on both the eastern bank of the Nile, where the temples of Karnak and Luxor stand, and the western bank, where are the large private and royal cemeteries and funerary complexes.