| Temple of Karnak | |
 Photo courtesy and © 1992 Steven Beikirch, Ancient Egypt |
Karnak is a city of
temples built over 2000 years. The temples were dedicated to the gods Amon, Mut, and
Khonsu. Amon was an insignificant local god until the 12th dynasty when Thebes became the
capital of Egypt. The temple covers and area of about 200 acres. This is the courtyard of the Temple of Ramesses III who reigned during the XX Dynasty. |
 Photo courtesy and © 1992 Steven Beikirch, Ancient Egypt |
The Hypostyle Hall is
filled with huge columns that are 23 meters high. This structure with 54,000 square feet
is the largest room of any religious building in the world.
|
| Temple of Luxor | |
 Photo courtesy and © 1992 Steven Beikirch, Ancient Egypt |
The Temple of Luxor or
Temple of Amon-Ra is located about a mile south from Karnak. The first pylon was built by
Ramesses II. At the time of its completion it was preceded by two obelisks, two seated
colossi and two pairs of standing colossi. The temple was built by Amenhotep III and completed by Ramesses II. |
 Photo courtesy and ©1996 Richard Deurer, Ancient Gallery Directory Used with permission. |
The Temple of Luxor and the Temple of Karnak were joined by a long stone paved avenue lined with sphinxes with rams heads. These were replaced with sphinxes with human heads during the XXX Dynasty. The photo on the left shows one of those sphinxes. |
| Back to Where Can You Find the Pyramids? | |