Karnak is the home of the god Amun, who was an insignificant local god until the 12th dynasty when Thebes became the capital of Egypt.
What is special about Karnak is the length of time over which it was developed and used. Construction work began in the 16th Century BCE. Approximately 30 Pharaohs contributed to the buildings, enabling it to reach a size, complexity, and diversity not seen elsewhere (Construction of temples started in the Middle Kingdom and continued through to Ptolemaic times.)
Teefa has put us on horse carriage for the short journey.
The weather was nice and the ride was very pleasant. It started off nice and steady. But then, it got a bit competitive between one of our tour member and Teefa and our carriages went into a race. Teefa eventually won, but I am sure some bribery was involved.
We entered the temple and found the criosphinxes (ram-headed sphinxes) waiting for us on the Processional Way and leading us to the first pylon.
Inside one of the chambers in the Shrine of Seti II
The Libyan pharaohs (935-730 BC) built a vast court of the Bubastites. This column was once part of the kiosk of Taharka where the processional barks were kept.
The second pylon leads into the Hypostyle hall which was built by Seti I and his son Ramses II (between 1294 and 1213 BC)
It consists of 134 sandstone columns in 16 rows to support the roof. The 12 columns of the central "nave" are almost 21 metres high and 3 metres in diameter. The columns along the sides are about 10 metres high. The architraves on top of these columns weigh an estimated 70 tons. The sandstone for this temple, including all the columns, was transported from Gebel Silsila 100 miles south on the Nile river.
The Hypostyle hall is enormous. According to some travel books, the whole of the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris could fit within the walls of the hall!
Stone lattice "windows"
Each of the columns are decorated in raised relief, which were pained in brilliant colours
Relief depicting the Pharaoh making offerings to the god
There are two upright obelisks left at Karnak: one of four erected by Tuthmosis III and one of two erected by Hatshepsut. The obelisk to the latter (right) is, out of ancient obelisks, second in height only to the Lateran obelisk in Rome. It weights 328 tonnes and stands 29 meters tall. It was made of Aswan pink granite with the apex once said to be covered with an alloy of silver and gold.
Statue of Rameses II
Touristy photo! :-P(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karnak)
At the pre-trip briefing, Teefa talked us through the dress code for the trip. He said that singlets and Russian skirts were encouraged. We didn't know what Russian skirts were, but when we saw this Russian/ Eastern European couple, it has all become clear. This photo has become the highlight of the day. When we showed the photo to Teefa for validation, he said, "SP, you are a very good photographer, but a very bad man!" hahaha
1 comment:
Russian skirts kick butt!
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