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Al Karnak

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    • TravelerEgypt
      Day 5

      Luxor: Karnak/Queen hatshepsut temple

      March 8 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

      Today, I embarked on a journey to the Karnak Temple and the Temple of Queen hatshepsut. I was surrounded by the echoes of ancient rituals and historical significance. the Hypostyle Hall, one of the main reason i chose Egypt, left me breathless – the first ever religious building of a human civilization. Its towering columns, adorned with intricate hieroglyphs, stood as a testament to human ingenuity and spiritual devotion. Later, at the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, the elegant terraces and hieroglyphic narratives provided a glimpse into the powerful reign of the female pharaoh. The juxtaposition of these two remarkable sites underscored the evolution of religious expression, with the Hypostyle Hall standing tall as the inaugural masterpiece of human religious construction.Read more

    • Brad and Mandy PearceEgypt, Jordan and Turkey
      Day 6

      Will this day end?

      March 9, 2020 in Egypt ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

      So we had a very early start - up by 3am, off to the airport at 4pm for the 7am flight to Luxor where we are to join a cruise on the Nile for the next 4 days. So far so good... arrived in Luxor about 10am and as our boat not ready until 1pm, we visited the Karnak and Luxor temples.

      Karnak temple complex is very impressive, especially the massive decorated columns - there are 134 of then, most around 10 metres tall while another dozen are 21 metres tall. Many of the large wall paintings depict stories about people from ancient Egyptian times and it was amazing to see how well preserved they are considering they are thousands of years old.

      The Luxor temple complex was constructed mainly under Amenhotep III & Rameses II, added to by Tutankhamun & others. The front gate has many statues of Rameses and there are several obelisks which really serve the same purpose as a church cross on top of the building or tower, or a minaret on a mosque.

      From here things went a little pear shaped. We headed back to the ship for what was supposed to be a late lunch. Unfortunately, the presence of coronavirus on another Nile cruise ship has meant screening for the virus on other cruise boats. So, back into Luxor while the tour director is hastily trying to organise lunch for us. We finally got lunch at around 3.30pm after not really having anything much to eat all day. Finally we were able to board around 5pm and we all had our temperature taken and a small sample had swabs taken to see if the virus was present.

      After Egypt we go to Jordan (and then Turkey), but some of the tour group were supposed to go to Israel after Jordan. This portion of the tour has now been cancelled. Still going to Jordan at this stage but borders are being closed or restricted every day. No news on Turkey yet but there is a risk they may deny us entry there. Shall cross that bridge if we come to it.      Read more

    • TravelerEgypt Experience
      Day 10

      Luxor 2; Karnak - The Precinct of Amun

      November 26, 2022 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

      The Temple Complex of Karnak is second only to the Pyramids of Giza on the list of "Wonders of Egypt". There are three separate enclosures or "precints", with each dedicated to one of the Theban Triad of Gods (Amun, Mut and Khonsu); together,. they cover an area of 100 acres Like most tours, we visit The Precinct of Amun, which is by far the grandest (and largest at 62 acres).

      We enter the Temple of Amun via the Processional Way and pass the largest pylon in Egypt as we reach the Temple Forecourt. As we leave, and just before the second pylon, is a colossus of Ramesses II; we then enter the Great Hypostyle Hall - 600 square metres of titanic columns where the original colours are being recovered using special cleaning techniques. On the outer walls of the Hall are reliefs of battle scenes. Beyond the third and fourth pylons there are obelisks before we reach the Sanctuary.

      We leave the Temple of Amun and enjoy views from around the Sacred Lake and walk through some of the open air museum to the Temple of Khonsu where there are some excellent wall reliefs; the Temple of Opet is here too and we see this and enjoy a fine view back over the Precinct of Amun.

      Opposite the Temple of Khonsu is the Gateway of Euergetes II which opens to the Avenue of Sphinxes; this provides a direct route between the Karnak Complex and the Luxor Temple.

      Another fantastic visit.      Read more

    • TravelerCroisière sur le Nil
      Day 7

      Karnak und Tempel von / temple de Luxor

      February 10, 2023 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

      🇩🇪 Karnak ist absolut grandios. Genau so wie der Tempel von Luxor, dessen zweiter Obelisk in Paris steht. (Er wurde Frankreich gespendet als Dank an den französischen Archäologen Champollion, der 1822 die Hyroglyphen entschlüsselte.)
      Man kann sich daran stören, dass Ramses II den Ruhm als grosser Baumeister einheimste, weil er hunderte von Jahren nach Baubeginn beide Tempel vollendete und überall seine Kartuschen anbringen liess (wie unser Führer) , der empört war). Aber man kann auch einfach nur bewundernd staunen über diesen grandiosen Wurf. Beide Tempel liegen 3 Km von einander entfernt, sie waren verbunden durch eine Prachtstraße die gesäumt war von 1450 Sphynxen, also etwa alle 4 Meter eine Spynx auf jeder Seite. 90 von ihnen existieren noch.
      Beide sind monumental, enorm und gleichzeitig so reich geschmückt. Den Luxortempel besuchten wir um 18 Uhr und profitierten so von der Beleuchtung.

      🇫🇷 Karnak est absolument grandiose. Tout comme le temple de Louxor, dont le deuxième obélisque se trouve à Paris. (Il a été offert à la France en remerciement à l'archéologue français Champollion, qui a déchiffré les hyroglyphes en 1822).
      On peut s'offusquer que Ramsès II se soit attribué la gloire de grand bâtisseur parce qu'il a achevé les deux temples des centaines d'années après le début de leur construction et qu'il a fait apposer ses cartouches partout (comme notre guide) , qui était outré). Mais on peut aussi être tout simplement admiratif devant cette réalisation grandiose. Les deux temples sont distants de 3 km, ils étaient reliés par un boulevard bordé de 1450 sphynx, soit un tous les 4 mètres environ de chaque côté. 90 d'entre eux existent encore.
      Les deux sont monumentaux, énormes et en même temps si richement décorés. Nous avons visité le temple de Louxor à 18 heures, profitant ainsi de l'éclairage.      Read more

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    • TravelerCrociera sul Nilo
      Day 7

      Karnak temple

      May 3, 2023 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 38 °C

      After a couple of hours to recharge, we moved to the Karnak temple in the afternoon. This site is a huge temple, expanded by various pharaons and Roman emperors through ages. The entrance is guarded by sphinxes with Aries head, followed by the amazing room of columns with huge intact columns built by Ramses II. There are also many specular carvings. This temple is connected to the near Luxor temple by a 3 km alley with sphinxes on both sides. During the rituals the sacred boats were moved from the Karnak temple to the Luxor one for 2 weeks to celebrate the Sun god.Read more

    • TravelerPyramiden, Pylonen, Pharaonen
      Day 5

      Säulenhalle Ramses II.

      May 25, 2023 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 36 °C

      Die Tempelanlage des Amun-Re besteht aus zehn bis über 100 Meter breiten Pylonen (Toren). Herzstück ist der riesige Säulensaal mit 134 bis zu 22,5 Metern hohen Säulen.
      Wenn man diesen Teil des Komplexes betritt, verschlägt es einem vor Staunen glatt die Sprache.
      Von den Unterseiten der Dachträger und den Säulen leuchten einem die Farben nach rund 3.300 Jahren noch immer entgegen.
      Der Säulensaal wurde von Sethos I. begonnen und von Ramses II. (klar, wem sonst?) fertiggestellt.      Read more

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    • TravelerPyramiden, Pylonen, Pharaonen
      Day 5

      Obelisken, Reliefs und ein Schrein

      May 25, 2023 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 37 °C

      Aber auch ansonsten hat die Anlage eine Menge zu bieten. Beispielsweise einen unter Königin Hatschepsut errichteten Obelisk, der nach ihrem Tod eingemauert wurde, damit ihre Namenskartuschen nicht mehr zu sehen sind. Zahlreiche Reliefs mit der Darstellung von Heldentaten in der Schlacht, Opferszenen und dem alltäglichen Leben.
      Und natürlich den Schrein des Amun-Re, den nur die Königinnen, Könige und Oberpriester betreten durften.      Read more

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    • Summer of 23

      Day 83 - Luxor, Egypt

      September 30, 2023 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 44 °C

      This morning we woke up from a bit of a restless night of sleep, from the heat over night. We believe it dropped to a balmy 26degrees and just started to heat up from there from 6am!

      Breakfast consisted of omelet’s, pancakes & fruit on the Felucca, whilst we ate breakfast the crew rowed the boat over to the East side bank, where we would be picked up by a bus to be taken to Luxor.

      We said goodbye to the Felucca crew and got into the bus, this drive will be a 4 to 5hour drive to Luxor.

      After about 5 hours we made it to Luxor, Mohamed had organised us lunch to be picked up which was Falafel for some or Chicken wraps for others.
      We then went to see ACE - Animal Care in Egypt, an animal hospital that is apart of Intrepid’s Foundation to give back to local communities. We got a tour of the cattery, kennels, horse/donkey stables & got to meet the resident Tortoise. They house about 30 or so cats at once and try to neuter them to keep numbers down, for dogs they try not too, because it will be harder to interact with other dogs or get targeted by stray dogs. They are seeing more Husky dogs come to Egypt unfortunately.

      We left ACE and headed for Karnak Temple in Luxor. The Temple of Karnak was believed to be the spot where creation began. They also believed it was a point of interaction between the god Amun-Ra and Egyptians. It is important to Egypt's cultural history because it was a place of worship and provides clues about the ancient Egyptian religion. Each Pharaoh or King added to the temple as they believed if they did this they would please the gods. We spent a couple of hours here, I could of stayed the whole day but at 44 degrees in full sun, could unfortunately only last a couple of hours.

      Mohamed took us to a local eatery for dinner close to the hotel, this was just off the side of the bazaar markets. I had the local dish of Stuffed Pigeon & shared it with another guy in the trip so I could have some of his Camel Burger. There is too much admin required for Pigeon for not a lot of meat and Camel wasn’t a heap different from mince burger… we think they saw us coming personally. We tried to get an early night ready for the next day at The Valley of Kings.      Read more

    • TravelerBaden in Ägypten
      Day 5

      Luxor: Karnaktempel

      November 9, 2023 in Egypt

      Wer kennt ihn nicht? Hercule Poirot, der am Nil und zwischen den gigantischen Säulen des 5000 Jahre alten Tempels zu Ehren Amrun Ra (Gott der Götter) den Mörder jagt.
      2000 Jahre waren nötig dieses Werk zu errichten, mit unglaublichen Ingenieursleistungen. Z.B ist der Obelisk aus 1 Granitstück gesprengt mittels Hitze und aufgestellt mit Hilfe eines Sandbetts. Halten tut das Ding mit Vakuum!!! Unglaublich!!! Von den 137 (oder so) wurden, bis auf 9, alle geklaut von Briten, Franzosen, Türken... den Besatzern halt und stehen heute in Paris, Istanbul, London.
      Die Steinquader für die Mauern wurden über Baumstämme und Zugkraft gebracht und mit einer Rampe aus Schlammziegel (vom Nil) aufgeschlichtet. Die Farben, alle original, sind leuchtend und auf Grund der fehlenden Witterung so erhalten, dass sie teilweise frisch aussehen.
      Sehr spannend finde ich auch, dass das Christentum sich viele Ideen was nach dem Tod ist, von den antiken Ägyptern entlehnt hat. Und, dass es ü er 600 Götter gab, weil sie jedes Tier als Gott verehrten. Leider ist nichts mehr über von dieser großen Haltung und die Mamluken haben jeglicher Kultur den Garaus gemacht.
      Möglicherweise sind in den Gesichtern vieler noch die Vorfahren zu sehen. Sehr viele Menschen sind wirklich schön.      Read more

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    • Greece, Egypt and Jordan
      Day 12

      Karnak Temple Complex

      January 1, 2023 in Egypt ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

      After lunch, we moored up in Luxor and took the bus to visit Karnak Temple. Driving through Luxor, we were struck by how much cleaner and cosmopolitan it looked than Cairo. It would have been nice to have a little more time to explore the city itself.

      As it was, we went straight to the temple. The main difference between Karnak and most of the other temples and sites in Egypt is the length of time over which it was developed and used. Construction began in the Middle Kingdom (2000 - 1700 BC) and continued into Ptolemaic times (305 - 30 BC). About thirty pharaohs contributed to the buildings, enabling it to reach a size, complexity, and diversity not seen elsewhere. Few of the individual features of Karnak are unique, but the size and number of features are overwhelming. The deities represented range from some of the earliest worshipped to those worshipped much later in the history of the Ancient Egyptian culture.

      The most famous part of Karnak Temple is the Great Hypostyle Hall with its 134 massive columns arranged in 16 rows. It is an incredible sight! 122 of these columns are 10 metres tall, and the other 12 are 21 metres tall with a diameter of over 3 metres. The architraves on top of these columns are estimated to weigh a massive 70 tons. Experts believe the Ancient Egyptians moved them by building large ramps of sand and mud and then towed the stones up them.

      We were at Karnak as the sun was setting - the perfect light to photograph the temple.      Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Al Karnak, الكرنك, Karnak

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