No trip to Egypt and the Nile area would be complete without visiting one of the most famous
tourist attractions in the world, The Temple of Karnak. Situated at Thebes,
now modern day Luxor, this is the largest columned temple in the world and
very architecturally complex. Being in a mostly ruined state, the whole
site is a continuous restoration project, and a vast open-air museum.
it represents the combined achievements of many generations of ancient
builders. The name Karnak comes from the nearby village of el-Karnak.
Egypt and the Nile
Karnak
The sheer size of the site, makes buying a map
almost essential to get the most out of your visit, if you can get the
services of a guide that speaks your own language, then all the better. In the
evenings there is a popular sound and light show, but check days and times to
ensure you visit the correct show as a number of different languages are
catered for.
You
enter the complex through the first pylon dating from the Ptolemaic
dynasty, here you can see that there
are eight channels built into the wall which were originally for accommodating flagpoles.
Apart from this, the pylon is unadorned. The pylon was never finished and
inside you can still see mud bricks piled up against the pylon wall, which
indicates the methods used by the ancient Egyptians to construct these
vast structures.
Many of the main routes which lead to the temples of Thebes, now modern
day Luxor, used to be lined with sphinxes. Those at the entrance of the
First Pylon of Karnak combine the head of a ram with the body of a lion.
The rams represents the god Amun. Each sphinx has between its front legs,
a statue of Ramses II.
Pass
through the second pylon and you enter the hypostyle hall 102 metres wide
and 53 metres long has an incredible 134 columns. The hall has been called
a forest of columns. The central row of twelve columns with open papyrus
capitals, the other 122 columns in the side aisles with closed papyrus-bud
capitals. The hall was roofed using stone slabs. The interior of the hall
would have had little light, although some light would have entered
through clerestory windows created by the use of vertical stone slabs. The
central aisle was built by Amenophis III. Horemheb started building the
side aisles which were continued by Seti I and Ramses II, and finished by
Ramses IV. Pass on through the third pylon and into the courtyard of
Amenhotep III. Here is the intersection point of the two directional axes
of the Temple of Karnak: the north/south, or terrestrial axis, and the
east/west, or celestial axis. Four obelisks originaly stood here, of which
only the the obelisk of Tuthmose I remains.
A
tall column with an open papyrus capital is all that remains of a 21 metre
high wooden-ceilinged pavilion of Taharqa, an Ethiopian king of the
25th dynasty. It is the only one remaining from the original ten. The
pavilion was originaly built to house the sacred barks. Close by stands an
impressive statue of Ramses II, the figure between the statues legs could
be Queen Nefertari or Princess Benet-Anat, daughter of Isinofre.
Just off this courtyard to the right stands the temple to Ramses III. The
pylon, flanked by statues of the Pharaoh, leads on to a porticoed
courtyard with Osiris pillars. At the far end is a vestibule which leads
to a hypostyle atrium. There are three main chapels dedicated to the triad
of gods worshiped in ancient Thebes, Amun, Mut, and
the lunar deity, Khonsu. There are a number of other, much smaller chapels
dedicated to a number of lesser gods.
You
enter the complex through the first pylon dating from the Ptolemaic
dynasty, here you can see that there
are eight channels built into the wall which were originally for accommodating flagpoles.
Apart from this, the pylon is unadorned. The pylon was never finished and
inside you can still see mud bricks piled up against the pylon wall, which
indicates the methods used by the ancient Egyptians to construct these
vast structures.
Pass
through the second pylon and you enter the hypostyle hall 102 metres wide
and 53 metres long has an incredible 134 columns. The hall has been called
a forest of columns. The central row of twelve columns with open papyrus
capitals, the other 122 columns in the side aisles with closed papyrus-bud
capitals. The hall was roofed using stone slabs. The interior of the hall
would have had little light, although some light would have entered
through clerestory windows created by the use of vertical stone slabs. The
central aisle was built by Amenophis III. Horemheb started building the
side aisles which were continued by Seti I and Ramses II, and finished by
Ramses IV. Pass on through the third pylon and into the courtyard of
Amenhotep III. Here is the intersection point of the two directional axes
of the Temple of Karnak: the north/south, or terrestrial axis, and the
east/west, or celestial axis. Four obelisks originaly stood here, of which
only the the obelisk of Tuthmose I remains.
A
tall column with an open papyrus capital is all that remains of a 21 metre
high wooden-ceilinged pavilion of Taharqa, an Ethiopian king of the
25th dynasty. It is the only one remaining from the original ten. The
pavilion was originaly built to house the sacred barks. Close by stands an
impressive statue of Ramses II, the figure between the statues legs could
be Queen Nefertari or Princess Benet-Anat, daughter of Isinofre.
Just off this courtyard to the right stands the temple to Ramses III. The
pylon, flanked by statues of the Pharaoh, leads on to a porticoed
courtyard with Osiris pillars. At the far end is a vestibule which leads
to a hypostyle atrium. There are three main chapels dedicated to the triad
of gods worshiped in ancient Thebes, Amun, Mut, and
the lunar deity, Khonsu. There are a number of other, much smaller chapels
dedicated to a number of lesser gods.
