Wednesday, April 18, 2018, Karnak temple (Luxor), Egypt

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The Karnak Temple Complex, commonly known as Karnak (from Arabic Ka-Ranak meaning "fortified village"), comprises a vast mix of decayed temples, chapels, pylons, and other buildings in Egypt. Construction at the complex began during the reign of Senusret I in the Middle Kingdom and continued into the Ptolemaic period, although most of the extant buildings date from the New Kingdom.  The area around Karnak was the ancient Egyptian Ipet-isut ("The Most Selected of Places") and the main place of worship of the eighteenth dynasty Theban Triad with the god Amun as its head.  It is part of the monumental city of Thebes.  The Karnak complex gives its name to the nearby, and partly surrounded, modern village of El-Karnak, 1.6 miles north of Luxor.

The complex is a vast open site and includes the Karnak Open Air Museum.  It is believed to be the second most visited historical site in Egypt; only the Giza Pyramids near Cairo receive more visits.  It consists of four main parts, of which only the largest is currently open to the general public.  The term Karnak often is understood as being the Precinct of Amun-Ra only, because this is the only part most visitors see.  The three other parts, the Precinct of Mut, the Precinct of Montu, and the dismantled Temple of Amenhotep IV, are closed to the public.  There also are a few smaller temples and sanctuaries connecting the Precinct of Mut, the Precinct of Amun-Re, and the Luxor Temple.


For more detailed information and photos visit:  Karnak overview

Double rows of animal statues.




















This still does not due justice to how large these columns are.











Left foot forward, side of the heart, implies benevolence of the leader.











Suppose this gave the designers of the Washington memorial ideas?


All one piece weighing tons.  One wonders how it was erected?











Original colors.













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