LUXOR TEMPLE:
Located in the middle of modern day Luxor, with its main
axis running parallel to the Nile, Luxor Temple is the town’s centerpiece.
Largely built by Amenophis III (1417-1379 BC) and Ramses II
(1304-1237 BC) and dedicated to the Theban Triad ( Amun-Min, Mut andKhonsu),
this temple has a richly layered history ,
much of which can still be discovered in inscriptions and carvings.
Alexander the Great converted one of the antechambers into a sanctuary for the “sacred
boat o Amun”, a replica of the god’s solar boat that during religious
celebrations was paraded through town. Under Roman Emperor Diocletian (284
-305AD), the temple became a military camp.
Some rare paintings from this period, located on the south
end of the main axis, were recently restored. Diocletian was known for
persecuting Christians, but a couple of centuries after his death portions of
the temple were converted once more, this time into churches.
Later still, the Mosque of Abul Haggag (named after the 12t
century Baghdad –born mystic who lied and died here)was built alongside a
temple wall. Luxor Temple was largely covered in sand until the late 19th
century and as a result is wonderfully preserved. Like other local monuments,
it owes its survival partly to a favourable climate, but above all to the
mastery of its builders called their temples “ the houses of eternity “and they
have , so far , outlasted time.
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Time out : stop by the café located within the
temple walls beneath a grove of trees, overlooking the regal Avenue of the
Sphinx .The small adjacent bookstore is well stocked with Egypt related
publications in several languages as well as other sundries. In case you need a
break from antiquity, Luxor Temple is located next door to the Winter Palace
and in front of the town’s souk.
TIP: Sound & light. Not to be missed, this dramatic
narration, offered nightly in several languages , helps make sense of karnak’s
long and complicated history, but the best part is the amazing experience of
walking around the temple by the light of the moon and stars. Check show times
in your preferred language. “The karnak temple is so vast and so grandiose that
the Egyptians must have designed it for men one hundred feet tall,”said
jean-francois Champollion, the Frenchman who first deciphered Egyptian
hieroglyphs.
KARNAK TEMPLES
In 1798, Napolean paid Egypt a visit, hoping to add it to
France’s empire. Troops were dispatched to secure Upper Egypt and 27th
January, 1799, during the long march south along the Nile; the soldiers caught
sight of Karnak rising defiantly from the sands. “Without an order being
given”, wrote one lieutenant, “the men formed their ranks and presented arms,
to the accompaniment of the drums and the bands’. Karnak’s awe inspiring power
us timeless a tribute to those who built and understood it as the home of the
gods.
Located to the north of the city centre , Karnak is perhaps
the largest religious complex ever constructed. Its original name was Ipet
Isut, meaning “the most select of places”. Over the course of 2 millennia, it
was enlarged by consecutive Pharaobs until it comprised an area of 247 acres.
Centered on the Temple of Amun ( begun during the 11th Dynasty ,
2134-1991 BC) it served as a spiritual center but also as an economic hub,
containing administrative offices, treasures , palaces, bakeries, breweries ,
granaries and schools.
Karnak’s grandest feature is the Great Hypostyle Hall but
its wonders include the Chapel of Senusert, which dates back to the Middle
Kingdom, the obelisks Thutmose I and Hatshepsut and the so called botanical
garden of Thutmose III, decorated with reliefs of the plants, trees and animals
the Pharaoh brought home from his military expeditions.
But the massive compound
contains countless treasures beyond these. Take a walk around Karnak’s perimeter,
where fewer travelers tend to venture. The ground is strewn with inscribed
blocks and fragments of statues where pieces of an age old puzzle still await
reassembly and treasures await discovery.
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