A pretty different temple in Egypt.
Influenced by about 30 pharoahs in its construction and architecture, it makes it a pretty complex and interesting site to visit with much to see and absorb. Well worth a stop here for at least an hour or two if you’re in Luxor.
We got there at around 4pm in the afternoon and to enter the actual complex past the visitor centre, one has to brave the heat of an open courtyard with very little shade, except for the few date trees planted along the way, and walk through the walkway of sphinxes before reaching the Hypostyle Hall. From this open courtyard looking westward, one can actually see Queen Hatshepsut Temple across the Nile River.
Our guide Mahmoud showed us a brochure of the original Hypostyle Hall in all its vibrant hues of reds and blues. While it’s hard to imagine the colourful grandeur at the time as most of the colours have faded, it brought to mind the peacock room of San Sammezzano Castle with its moorish influence in Italy. Of course, there is no comparison in both the history of these places - The Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak Temple was built from 1290BC, while San Sammezzano was built from 1605AD. The pillars in this hall were simply amazing and were supposed to represent papyrus flowers...
Walking further in, one will see obelisks, statues, starfish lined ceilings in rooms and a little pond. By the pond, one will find a scarab sculpture raised on a short pillar. We saw a group of tourists walking around the scarab seemingly praying. On further research after, apparently there’s a reason for females to be walking around the scarab 7 times.
Overall, a really lovely and windy site to explore and for nice photography.
6,762
996
115
22
11
