Karnak and Luxor Temple

Saturday November 6 — What a day!  We were up at 4 am and flew to Luxor from Cairo to start touring by 9 am, trying to beat the heat.

Karnak Temple was built over 2500 years ago.  The first temple was built by Amman circa 1900 BC and added to by successive Pharaohs over 1500 years.  300 BC was the end of the Pharoahanic era.  The Avenue of the Rams is 2 miles long from Karnak to the Temple of Luxor.  The Ram is a symbol of  the God Ammon.

Teti and Ramesses built the Great Hall of Pillars.  There are 134 pillars.  Some have a lotus leaf capital and some have a bundle of papyrus.  They are all covered with hieroglyphs that artistically tell a story of the king and gods.  From right to left will always be the king with his cartouche over his head and he will be offering various things to the god who is on the left.  

The obilesk is 100 feet tall, weighs 300 tons and is one solid piece of granit.  Queen Hatshepsut commissioned this monument.

The last room in the complex is the actual sacred temple that only the priests can enter. This is where he would make sacrifices (non-human) and keep offerings from the people.  If not cleared out often it would begin to rot and stink. Since this is the temple for Ammon we get the word from this stench - ammonia. 

We waited until early evening to visit the Temple of Luxor lit up with decorative lighting. The crowds were very heavy. Construction in preparation for a visit from the President of Egypt prevented us from getting close to many relics.  In 661 BC, the Babylonians invaded Egypt so many times you’ll see the Roman influence on statues.  The headless statue of Isis shows her in Roman garb.

Another obelisk, one of two that guarded the gate, is 65 feet tall.  The second obelisk was traded to the French for the clock tower mentioned earlier in the Mohammed Ali Mosque.

Hatshepsut built the temple in 1490 BC, Ramesses added the Colonnades in 1390 BC and King Tutunkahman added more pillars in 1320 BC.  A mosque was built over a church in 1200 AD, a Roman temple was added circa 300 BC.

A fun and informative set of hieroglyphs shows god Ammon feeding an ank (symbol of life) into the woman’s nose.  The bent elbow cradled in her hand symbolizes intercourse between the celestial and the Devine entity.  The placement of the legs and feet also suggests intercourse.