Our tour, while on the cruise, started on Tuesday morning with a visit to the Karnak Temple which took 1300 years to build. About 30 pharoahs contributed to the buildings and it is the largest ancient religious site in the world.
An avenue of ram-headed sphinxes (who were believed to protect the Pharoah) leads to the first pylon.
Large statues of the the king Ramses III are found at the entrance.
The big hall contains 134 huge columns and is larger than the Notre Dame Basilica in Paris.
Two obelisks, one to Thutmose II and one to Queen Hatshepsut are found here. The chipped one belongs to the Queen. In a family quarrel, Thutmose III had a wall built around it but it was only partially covered. Each of these are built from single blocks of granite taken from the quarries in Aswan, about 200 km upstream. How they moved something that was 29.5 metres high, weighing 323 tonnes, is almost beyond comprehension!
There were a million photos ops here!!
A roof detail with original beautiful colors. The details on each column, roof piece, and statue are amazing!!
It was the most amazing place to start our temple visits!
Wow! You're photos are fantastic. Isn't it amazing what they built and used so long ago? We were both in awe of the magnificance and grandier of the pyramids, obelisks, statues, graves, etc. We just don't quite understand the depth of history this part of the world has. Thanks for sharing. I can't wait to see lots more.
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