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Lonely Planet notes that the history of Karnak began during the Middle Kingdom period, when Theban Pharoahs first ruled Egypt, but that the majority of the columns, obelisks, reliefs, and pylons were efforts of New Kingdom rulers. The period of construction, maintenance, restoration, and enlargement spanned some 1500 years. Huge ceremonial parades on the Avenue of Sphinxes between Luxor Temple and Karnak. Alexander arrived to rebuild at Luxor Temple, but by the time the Romans arrived, Luxor Temple and Karnak were already mostly in ruins. Construction and interest continued though even through Ptolemaic and early Christian times. The following images show the entrance and overview of Karnak. At the east gate, there is a great place to climb up and get an overview shot. At the time I visited, the 8th Pylon was being reconstructed, and the area around the sacred lake was littered with numbered fragments. Leave a Comment
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It seems to me that wise plan for the city of Luxor would be to have the goal of clearing the buildings between Luxor Temple and Karnak. I can't recall if any large hotels are located along this route, but most hotels should be built along the esplanade anyway. The greater challenge would be removal of the 19th century mosque, which is no great shakes in terms of architecture but for the Muslim faithful might be hard to remove. Abu'll Haggag, a Sufi sheik that died in 1243, spent the last fifty of his ninety years in Luxor, but he would likely approve from the grave, the building of a new finer mosque elsewhere in town. In any case, Luxor already has street parade ceremonies that bear resemblance to the traditions of ancient Egypt. Expanding this to a festival that parades along the Avenue of the Sphinxes would be really fantastic. Another great website is provided as a link below. Leave a Comment
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Luxor Temple is generally the easiest ruins to visit because it is located right in the middle of town. Our hotel was within two blocks, and in a spare moment with nothing to do, I would walk down there for more photos. I found an excellent description of this temple as it was used in its hey day. The full link to the site is provided below:
Many festivals were celebrated in Thebes. The Temple of Luxor was the center of the most important one, the festival of Opet. Built largely by Amenhotep III and Ramesses II, it appears that the temple's purpose was for a suitable setting for the rituals of the festival. The festival itself was to reconcile the human aspect of the ruler with the divine office. During the 18th Dynasty the festival lasted eleven days, but had grown to twenty-seven days by the reign of Ramesses III in the 20th Dynasty. At that time the festival included the distribution of over 11,000 loaves of bread, 85 cakes and 385 jars of beer. The procession of images of the current royal family began at Karnak and ended at the temple of Luxor. By the late 18th Dynasty the journey was being made by barge, on the Nile River. Each god or goddess was carried in a separate barge that was towed by smaller boats. Large crowds consisting of soldiers, dancers, musicians and high ranking officials accompanied the barge by walking along the banks of the river. During the festival the people were allowed to ask favors of the statues of the kings or to the images of the gods that were on the barges. Once at the temple, the king and his priests entered the back chambers. There, the king and his ka (the divine essence of each king, created at his birth) were merged, the king being transformed into a divine being. The crowd outside, anxiously awaiting the transformed king, would cheer wildly at his re-emergence. This solidified the ritual and made the king a god. The festival was the backbone of the pharaoh's government. In this way could a usurper or one not of the same bloodline become ruler over Egypt. Leave a Comment
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Unlike the ruins, I only took a dozen or so pictures here, preferringn insted to simply marvel at the exhibits and talk to friends. However, here are some more exhibits of interest. The museum appears to be adding or changing its exhibits, so your visit can find even better gems than these. One of the best displays of antiquities in Egypt is located at the Luxor Museum, which opened in 1975. Housed within a modern building, the collection is limited in the number of items, but they are beautifully displayed in the otherwise dimly lit surroundings. Leave a Comment
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The Luxor Museum is on the esplanade walk toward Karnak. The Museum is not large and won't take a lot of time, but it contains some excellent exhibits, mostly from the ruins around Luxor and the West Bank. The Museum is dimly lit and flash photography is not permited, so these images are less than the best representation of what can be seen there. Check out the weblink below for some excellent results by another photographer for some exhibits. Leave a Comment
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This is your lucky number seven, the last of this series on Medinet Habu. The following images are not the last of what I have, but they do include the last of some of the best images I have from this complex. As a review, the Medinet Habu, named for the Coptic Christian settlement that protected the ruins for many generations, is originally the site of a small temple of Amun built by Thutmosis I. Later, Hatshepsut, Tuthmosis III, and most notably, Ramses III built larger buildings notable for a newer "military style" of architecture that developed during a period of overseas empire building. Yet, in this middle period of ancient Egyptian history, the building of great structures also was designed to emphasize and isolate the royal family for God like reverence. Today, the Mortuary Temple of Ramses III dominates Medinat Habu due to it's excellent state of preservation; however during the reign of Ramses III, this was not only a Temple but a Royal Palace. Outside the fortified East Gate, was once a canal and landing quay for the royal family. The artwork of the entrance and first pylon emphasize the strength and victory of Ramses over his enemies during his reign. Captive Asians being punished and reliefs of naval battles with the Syrians and Hittities are featured in colored reliefs. Further into the Temple, cermonial scenes with gods and family predominate, again much of this in well preserved vivid color not found above ground elsewhere in Egypt. Surprisingly, this complex is one of the least visited on the West Bank. Leave a Comment
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Unbelieveable as it may seem, this place has even more great things to offer. Beyond the Great Hypostyle Hall of the Temple of Ramses III, there are smaller hypostyle halls without roofs that nevertheless have much to offer the visitor. Due to the angle of the late afternoon sun, I unable to capture much of the palace with my camera. The images though remind me that I was particularly stunned by the red granite statue in the far end of the complex. There are also numerous exposed reliefs of interest to those that are hardy walkers, and in this part it's possible to climb on the roof and shoot back toward the south. Leave a Comment
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The most thrilling part of this complex is the Vestibule Colonnade and the Great Hypostyle Hall. Much of the roof remains and the light is sufficient to appreciate the massive amount of color rich reliefs on walls, ceiling, and columns. Here, the military themes definitely give way to more sensitive content that includes Ramses and his family interacting during various ceremonial processions and with the Gods. On the ceiling lintels, the vulture goddess, Nekhebet is a common feature. Leave a Comment
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Many with tired feet might be unimpressed with the architecture, since it resembles much of what one sees at Karnak and Ramesseum. However, as one passed through the 2nd Pylon, vivid colors of ceiling and walls becomes an absolute fascination. Other than the vibrant colors of the tombs, one rarely sees such in the monuments of Egypt. Sun, rain, and time are harsh on any painted ruins, but these colors remain largely intact because of the excellent preservation of the roofed areas. It also seems that the Coptic Village may have protected the Temple Complex from those who might inhabit and burn smokey fires to destroy the paint. The second courtyard also has Osiride porticos and columns on both sides. The columns are filled with stunning relief work, as are the walls and ceilings, presummably many images from the Book of the Dead, as well as Ramses adventures are the content. Since I had my roll film camera, I had a less thorough image documentation than I would take now. So, check it out! But, the best is yet to come in this series of Medinet Habu. Leave a Comment
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The theme here is one designed to impress and put fear into those who enter the Temple. The South Gate and outer First Pylons are replete with huge reliefs of Ramses punishing his enemies. Then, just past the first pylon, one enters the First Court with the Osiride Portico featured on the right. Leave a Comment
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- Hilton Luxor (New Karnak )
New Karnak (Currently closed for renovations. Will reopen in July 2007), Luxor - SOFITEL WINTER PALACE LUXOR
Corniche el Nile St, Luxor - Steigenberger Nile Palace (formerly Nile Palace)
Khaled Ben El Walid Street (formerly Nile Palace), Luxor - Partner Tutotel
1 Salah El Din Street, Luxor - Movenpick Resort Luxor
Aswan Road, Kings Island, Luxor - SOFITEL KARNAK LUXOR
El Zinia Gebly Street, Luxor - Mercure
Cornish El Nile Street, Luxor - Sonesta St George Hotel Luxor
Corniche El Nile Street, Luxor - Hotel New Winter And Pavillon Palace
Corniche el Nile Street (Formerly New Winter & Pavillon Palace), Luxor - Sheraton Luxor Resort
Al Awameya PO Box 43, Luxor - Gaddis Hotel
Khalid Ibn el Walid Street, Luxor - Sheraton Luxor Resort (Al Awameya.)
Al Awameya PO Box 43, Luxor - Pyramisa Isis Hotel & Suites Luxor
Khaled Ibn el Walid Street, Luxor - MERCURE INN LUXOR 2M
10 Temple Street (Formerly Mercure Inn Luxor), Luxor - Iberotel
Khaled Ebn El Waleed St. (formerly Novotel Luxor), Luxor
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on April 10, 2006
