Bob and Theresa: Egypt - Day 9 - 28 March 2019

Egypt and the Eternal Nile

Day 9 - 28 March 2019

Karnak and Luxor Temples

I always associate Karnak with a bit on Johnny Carson.

Never did I think there was actually a temple in Egypt by that name! Much less that it was HUGE!

We spent the morning in Karnak Temple and the evening in Luxor Temple. They are connected by an avenue of sphinxes over a mile long and someday soon, you'll be able to stroll i between!

We were on the road early enough to see some of the hot air balloons in flight!

This map shows the expanse of the Temples of Karnak, perhaps the largest religious building ever constructed, was known as Ipet-isu - or “most select of places”- by the ancient Egyptians. It is actually a city of temples built over 2,000 years and dedicated to the Theban triad of Amun, Mut, and Khonsu. This derelict place is still capable of overshadowing many wonders of the modern world and in its day must have been truly awe-inspiring. (discoveringegypt.com/karnak-temple/)
(Thank goodness for the wonderful resources on the internet! I wouldn't have remembered a tenth of this info!)

This diorama show the extent of the temple as it existed in ancient times

As always, Hassan gave us insights and facts galore!

The early morning light made photography of the entrance we used challenging

A row of sphinxes guard the entrance

The entrance is guarded by statues of Ramesses II

Buildings not associated directly with the temple still exist near the entrance

The sphinxes are ram headed (the god Amun) and have small figures of Ramesses II

The remains of this huge kiosk, built by 25th Dynasty pharaoh Taharqa (690-664 B.C.) originally consisted of ten twenty-one meter high papyrus columns linked by a low screening wall. Today there is only this one great column still standing. It is believed that it was a barque chapel (or Station) although some Egyptologists think it may have been used in ritual activities to join with the sun (ibid)

The first pylon or great court is the last to be built at Karnak and is the main entrance into the temple today. It was never completed and is undecorated

The remains of the mud brick ramps, used to build, it can still be seen inside the great court.

This statue of Ramesses II wears the nemes headdress with the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt and his arms are crossed, holding crook and flail; symbols of kingship. At his feet, Princess Bent’anta holds a flower and wears an Uraeus crown of rearing cobras. Her name is Syrian, meaning Daughter of Anath, (the Canaanite goddess). Her mother was Isetnofret, one of Ramesses’s most important wives. (Ibid)

While in today's society, that might be seen as a slight, in the day of the Pharaohs, it was a great honor.

The massive columns in the hypostyle hall dwarf the people and there is still some paint surviving on the under side of the capitals. The hall covers an area of 50,000 sq ft (5,000 sq meters) and filled with 134 gigantic stone columns with 12 larger columns standing 80 feet (24 m) high lining the central aisle. The hall was built by Seti I who inscribed the northern wing. The outer walls depict Seti’s battles. (Ibid)

In ancient times, the ceiling was completely covered. Light and air came in through grates like this one.

Hassan led us to a corner where we could view a palm tree and an obelisk through a gap in between two of the pillars

The few remaining ceiling panels still have amazing colors

The cartouche identifies the pharaoh in power

The signage was excellent

This is one of three obelisks. Obelisks were unique in that they were carved from a single piece of stone and transported to the site and erected

The carving was likely done prior to it being erected

This obelisk was broken, and only the pedestal and its fragments remain

Karnak Temple Sacred Lake is the largest of its kind and was dug by Tuthmosis III (1473-1458 BC). It measures 393 feet by 252 feet and is lined with stone wall and has stairways descending into the water. (Ibid)

The lake was used by the priests for ritual washing and ritual navigation. It was also home to the sacred geese of Amun (the goose being another symbol of Amun) and was a symbol of the primeval waters from which life arose in the ancient Egyptian’s idea of creation. (Ibid)

This monument is to a bug! The scarab (dung beetle) deposited balls of dung in its burrows and laid eggs in the dung. The larvae used the dung for food. When it was consumed the young beetles would emerge from the hole. The ancient Egyptians believed that the young scarab beetles emerged spontaneously from the burrow where they were born. Therefore they were worshiped as "Khepera", which means "he was came forth." This creative aspect of the scarab was associated with the creator god Atum.

This huge granite statue of a scarab was dedicated by Amenhotep III.. The front face of the cylindrical pedestal was flattened to form a stela, and on it is carved the kneeling king makes an offering to Atum of Heliopolis. .

It is said that if you walk around the sacred scarab three times, you'll have good fortune. After we were half way done, someone motioned we were walking the wrong direction, so we reversed course! (Maybe they were just yanking our chains!?)

The least developed and newest part of the complex was the western courtyard. A great deal of construction was underway

Two stonemasons were chipping away at some stone pieces to fit them into a portion of this part of the temple

We paused for a moment to get a photo of the contingent from Purdue Alumni Association
In the background are two of the important obelisks.

As we walked back toward the bus, we noticed you can see the mortuary temple of Pharaoh Hatshepsut

Our next stop was at a papyrus showroom

This woman gave us a 4-5 minute demonstration of how to lay up and press papyrus

The finished product which she twisted and stretched but to no avail!

We bought a painting of Nut, the goddess who ate the sun each evening and gave birth to a new sun the next morning. Same with the stars. The two halves of the painting depict her two tasks

We made a stop at an ATM where Vallee, Mike and others reloaded their Egyptian Pound "bazooka" for the coming days. Hassan assisted in understanding the commands and procedure.

Back to the bus and to the Sun Ray.
(The trip from Aswan to Luxor was done in one day. The remainder of our days on Sun Ray was to use it as a very nice hotel)

Fresh flowers every day!

The name on this boat caught my eye - looked like Amway at first glance! Makes sense to have a pyramid boat in Egypt!

Later, we made a stop at a jewelry shop. While there was a lot of good jewelry to be had, Bob spent the time propping his swollen foot up while Theresa took photos of some great little statues!

Then, on to Luxor Temple - we arrived right at sundown

Luxor Temple is smaller than the Karnak Temple

They sit at the opposite ends of the Avenue of Sphinxes
(On the full resolution photo, you can see the huge crane we saw at Karnak)

Arriving at dusk gave us a great comparison of dusk . . .

. . . and night! The lighting really was spectacular!

Once again, the signage was excellent

There used to be two obelisks in front but one of them got carted off to Paris!

The great court of Ramasses II

To the left as you walk in, the building was converted for use as a Christian church. Later a mosque was built and the minaret is visible above the roof line. While they were there the (amplified) call to prayer was broadcast from the huge speaker right above us!

A better view of the mosque's minaret

Another comparison of night view and . . .

. . . daylight

Much of the temple is still in ruins.

Outside the courtyard in front is this Roman shrine

Court of Ramsses II

Left foot forward was a sign of stability and peace

The great Colonnade of Amenhotep III has seven pairs of 52 foot (16m) high open-flower papyrus columns, which still support their huge architrave blocks. (Ibid)

The reliefs on the walls of the hall bear the names of Tutankhamun, Horemheb, Seti I, Rameses II and Seti II. Tutankhamun decorated the eastern walls but Horemheb later erased the name of the boy king, and inscribed his own. (Ibid)