Dec. 14, 2009
Our last full day in Egypt began with an early morning check out. Leaving the cruise ship, where we had spent the past four nights was a bit sad... it meant our trip was coming to an end.
First stop of the day... Karnak Temple.
The Karnak temple complex is dedicated to the Pharoah Amun along with his wife Mut and their son Khons. Each of them have an area in the complex, of course the most impressive and largest belong to Amun.
Construction on the Karnak temple complex began in the 16th century BC and continued for a period up to 1300 years. This huge time span is one of the reasons this temple is so unique. During that time, approximately thirty pharaohs added their own personal touches to the construction enabling it to reach a size, complexity, and diversity rarely seen in other temples.
There are over 25 temples and chapels in the Karnak complex, including separate shrines for the three boats that took the statues of the gods on their annual trip on the flooding Nile.
As we entered the complex we passed the Ram-headed Avenue of Sphinxes, which was built to protect the Temple. It's quite a site as you walk pass these rams.
This beautiful statue immediately caught my eye when we entered the main area. But one of the most impressive areas of Karnak is the Hypostyle Hall in the Precinct of Amun-Re, a hall filled with 134 massive columns arranged in 16 rows, the highest 70 feet tall, and each about 45 feet around. The hall covers an area of 64,586 sq ft.
R & I enjoyed exploring Karnak but it was really crowded. There were so many tourists and if there is one thing I dislike it's crowds. According to Mohammad, many of these tourists were Russians vacationing in the Red Sea; they come to Luxor for the day. From the way they were dressed they definitely look like they came straight off the beach.
Everyday... for the past 6 days, R & I have listened to intense and in depth explanations on Egyptian history and don't get me wrong it was fascinating but a person can only take so much. lol! Egyptologists study for years and are able to process this information slowly compared to hearing it all in one week. If Mohammad quizzed me one more time who Aton, Ra, Nut or Hathour was or even asked me to decode a hieroglyphic character I was sure my head was going to explode! lol! And I'm pretty sure R felt the same way.
So as we explored the complex, our fascination with the temple was slowly replaced with an interest in how people were dressed. We became Bill Cunningham from New York Times' On the Street. lol! We captured some very interesting shots which I will definitely share later in a separate posting because really these photos were so funny and they made us laugh so much they deserve their own post. lol!
Comments