Karnak Temple
Karnak Temple, in Luxor, is the largest known temple complex in the world. It was dedicated to Amun, greatest of the Egyptian gods and Karnak was the spiritual centre of the kingdom.
Most visitors spend no more than half an hour at Karnak but it would really take several days to take in the whole complex.
The temple was built along two axis (east - west and north - south) with the original Middle Kingdom shrines built on a mound in the centre of what is now called the Temple of Amun. An avenue of ram-headed sphinxes leads visitors towards a towering gateway, through walls that stand almost 45m (147 ft) high. Two colossi of Rameses II guard the way into the Great Hypostyle Hall.
Rameses II....
The Sound and Light Show at Karnak Temple
This was the last trip of our holiday and well worth it.
We were picked up at 5.45pm and taken to Luxor and into an Egyptian restaurant for dinner. I'm not sure really what we ate
, there were several courses in all and it was.... ermm...... quite acceptable!
We them made our way to Karnak Temple for the 8.45pm Show.
The excellent show gave you a chance to see the temple lit up at night. The show began at the entrance with a guided tour through the ghostly temple grounds where lights pick out pillars and statues and portrays the history of Thebes, including the lives of the pharaohs who built the necropolis. All the time there were haunting narrations and music telling the story and you felt yourself being drawn back in time. This part of the show took approx 75 minutes. Finally the last act is played while you are seated along the Great Sacred Lake,
The performance related to the history of Luxor as the capital of the ancient world.
We came away with a feeling of mystique and thoroughly enjoyed the evening!
The Colossi of Memnon