Karnak Temple

  • DSC01470 Model of the Karnak Temple Complex in the visitors center. The complex is a collection of temples built by many different Pharaohs.
  • DSC01472 Entry lined with sphinxes and the traditional pylons.
  • DSC01475 A small obelisk at the entry.
  • DSC01476 Looking into the large inner courtyard.
  • DSC01478 The remains of the mud ramp used to build the wall. This structure provides evidence of how the pyramids were most likely constructed.
  • DSC01480 A large statue of the Pharaoh standing guard over the entrance to the inner sanctum.
  • DSC01481 Details of how some of the carvings were made on the walls. Instead of carving directly into the stone, a coating was applied to the wall which made carving easier.
  • DSC01482 Temples were almost always symmetric. Here we can see the wall opposite the previous picture, showing an almost identical wall portion.
  • DSC01484 The largest hypostyle hall we saw. Originally these columns held a heavy stone roof.
  • DSC01485 A few remaining portions of the roof are seen here. Notice the colors are still present, protected from the sun.
  • DSC01487 Looking across the Great Hypostyle Hall to the obelisk of Hatshepsut.
  • DSC01488 Two remaining obelisks. The one in the foreground was erected by Tuthmosis I, the one in the background by his daughter Hatshepsut.
  • DSC01492 Chris resting near the base of Hatshepsut's obelisk. It was a very warm day and shade was scarce.
  • DSC01493 Hatshepsut's obelisk. This is the tallest standing obelisk on earth at 29.6 m (97 feet).
  • DSC01495 The remains of two statues flanking an entryway. The left is most likely a Pharaoh, I don't know if the right is a Queen or a Goddess.
  • DSC01497 The remains of the roof. More of the star motif we've seen in other temples.
  • DSC01498 Carvings at the top of the wall and another piece of the ceiling.
  • DSC01501 A different type of heiroglyph carving style. These were incredibly deeply carved.
  • DSC01503 Another view of Hatshepsut's obelisk, notice that it has a slight lean to the left beginning at the crack just a few meters above the base.
  • DSC01505 The swimming pool. Just kidding, this was actually a sacred lake used for purification of souls.
  • DSC01506 A collection of Pharaoh statues. It isn't clear they actually belong in this location or were moved here during reconstruction.
  • DSC01507 A well-placed palm tree.
  • DSC01511 A shot of us in the first courtyard by a set of sphinxes.
  • DSC01513 Mona thought these were particularly picturesque palms.
  • DSC01515 The Great Hypostyle Hall.
  • DSC01516 Another view of the Great Hypostyle hall. There were lots and lots of columns.
  • DSC01520 Mona keeping her cool (barely).
  • DSC01523 Looking down a corridor of the hall.
  • DSC01525 A schematic of the Great Hypostyle hall showing which Pharaoh built each section of the complex.
  • DSC01526 Mona and Chris posing by the row of sphinxes. These particular sphinxes are a combination of a lion's body and a ram's head.