Karnak Temple Complex in Luxor was the very last ancient Egyptian temple that we visited during our visit and it was also the largest one. The construction for this temple started during the Middle Kingdom and it continued into the Ptolemaic Kingdom. A lot of pharaohs contributed to the construction of the complex.
Even though the air was cooler than Jakarta, the sun at Karnak Temple was incredibly bright. Miss Kiki and DH retreated back to the bus not long after Michael finished giving the tour. My friend and I made use of our free time to take more pictures.
In the picture immediately below, you can see an unfinished wall with a hill building up to it. This gave us a picture of how they built those high walls. They gradually build a hill leading up to the wall, and when they finish they gradually tear the hill down. What we saw at this temple seemed to have been an abruptly abandoned project. Something must have happened that they put their project into a stall and left it as it was.
The temple complex had many different parts with many different cults each of them were dedicated to. The number of columns were impressive.
It is worth mentioning here that Rameses II had participated in building part of this complex, but he not only had his name inscribed on the pillars he built but also carved over the pillars of his predecessor with his name. He also made sure that his carvings were a lot deeper than his predecessor's to ensure no one else could carve over his name as he did to others.
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| Rameses II's cartouche |
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| Close-up look of how this was carved over another carving. |
The Karnak temple was home to many obelisks, only 3 of which remain standing today. Queen Hatshepsut had a pair of obelisks erected at this temple, and hers were the tallest ones. That showed how advanced Egypt was during her reign. One of the pair had fallen however, and the tip of the obelisk is displayed near the sacred lake in the complex.
In the picture below, on the left is Thutmose I's obelisk standing just shy of 20 metres tall. On the right side is Queen Hatshepsut's obelisk measuring about 30 metres tall including the pedestal. They look of equal height because of the distance.
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| Top of the fallen obelisk of Hatshepsut |
After we finished at Karnak temple we all loaded back in the bus and drove towards Hurghada. It was a 5-hour bus ride with one stop in between. The rest area had Indomie cup noodles for sale!
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