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Although most of Karnak has been thoroughly excavated, the temple still conceals and occasionally reveals more of the Pharaohs' secrets and mysteries.
After being buried for nearly 3,600 years in the temple ruins, a statue of Neferhotep, whose name means "beautiful and good", was lately uncovered by archaeologists from the Centre Franco-Egyptien D'Étude des Temples de Karnak in a niche 1.5m below the foundation pit of Hatshepsut's obelisk at the Wadjyt hall. It is a life-sized statue of the Pharaoh in the customary royal striding position, wearing the royal head-cloth nemes and holding a mace in one hand. The forehead bears an emblem of a cobra, which Ancient Egyptians used as a symbol on the crown of their Pharaohs. They believed that the cobra would spit fire at approaching enemies.
The second half of the statue is still buried in sand and waiting to be unearthed, but according to archaeologists there are several obstacles to be overcome. Lifting out the dyad would be a critical operation requiring accuracy and specialised techniques.
Egyptologists are divided into two groups; Some think that this is a unique statue of a Pharaoh who has few representations, as well as its being a valuable addition to the overwhelming number of monuments at Karnak Temple. On the opposing side are others fear an unpredictable disaster that might lead to major damage to the obelisk or the portico.
A professional committee of French and Egyptian architects, archaeologists and restorers has been assigned, to discuss the issue and decide on a solution. "We cannot remove a whole temple to unearth a statue." Leave a Comment
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A highlight of Luxor (ancient city of Thebes) is the Karnak Temple. It covers an immense more than 40 hectares. The main and the grandest place of worship is the Precinct of Amun. The Great Hypostyle Hall is 6000 sq m and filled with immense stone pillars. The whole site has colossal statues, reliefs, obelisks and halls and, of course, the Avenue of the Sphinxes.
The Karnak Temples are open from 6:30 am until 5:30 pm in winter and from 6 am to 6 pm during summer.
Admission is LE 50 for foreigners, LE 20 for foreign students, LE 4 for Egyptians and LE 2 for Egyptian students. Visiting the open-air museum, to the left of the second pylon, costs an extra LE 20. The museum contains a collection of statuary that was found throughout the temple complex. The ticket has to be purchased at the main Karnak ticket kiosk.
Karnak takes at least a half of a day just to walk around its many precincts and years to come to know it well.
VT has its separate location for Karnak Temple. I have my own Karnak Temple page with 22 tips and 114 pics.
You may see more pics on my Travelogue
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| | | | Temple of Hatshepsut | Tip Rating: | | | | |
The West Bank of the Nile near Luxor or West Thebes is even more interesting in many aspects than the East Bank, which often has the name of East Thebes with its Karnak and Luxor Temples. Colossi of Memnon, Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, Valley of the Kings, Temple of Ramesses III (Medinet Habu), Village of Deir el-Medinah and others are the highlights of the West Thebes. They are the purls of the ancient Egypt history and culture.
The mortuary temple of Hatshepsut of untraditional appearance which appears to be in harmony with the surrounding environment.
The Temple nestles at the foot of the cliffs in a natural "bay" on the West Bank of Luxor. This area had long been sacred to the goddess Hathor. In the 7th century AD, it was named after a Coptic monastery in the area, known as the “Northern monastery”. There is a theory suggesting that the Temple, in the Early Christian Period, was used as a Coptic monastery.
After the introduction of Christianity, Hatshepsut’s temple was used as a monastery. Its modern name Deir el-Bahri is Arabic for "Northern Monastery."
The Temple served for her posthumous worship and to honor the glory of Amun and the other gods.
The individual parts of the Temple of Hatshepsut correspond to the classical form of Theban mortuary temples with pylon, courts, hypostyle hall, sun court, chapel for the royal cult, and sanctuary.
Admission price to the Temple of Hatshepsut is 25 LE ($5)
Open hours from 6.00 till 18.00 (in April).
Ticket kiosk is located 1 km to the North of Colossies on the cross of the road to the Nile and the road which is parallel to the Theban Hills.
You can buy all types of tickets for sightseeing of Western Thebes in this kiosk.
Colossies are free of charge.
Vt has the separate location for the West bank of the Nile (Thebes). I've put my page here with 21 tips and 74 pics.
You may see more pics on my Travelogue
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Careful with the kids here in Luxor, I took a picture of this bunch, and tried to give them a Epyptian pound or two to buy some candy.
Wrong move... As soon as they saw money they started going into a feeding frenzy, with a bunch of other kids jumping out all pushing and grabbing. Run away!!! Run away !!!!
I actually aborted the attempt and made a strategic retreat. This was a much different experience then I had with kids in the "non-tourist" areas in Cairo, who couldn't be more friendly and helpful.
So, I guess it is best to spend all you time in Luxor viewing monuments, and save the socializing for elsewhere.... Leave a Comment
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