#34 Karnak and the Luxor Temple

After a good night’s rest in our luxe cabin, we set out for another morning of touring in the Luxor area.  Our first stop was the Temple of Karnak, touted as the world’s largest outdoor museum. Karnak Temple was the most important temple in Thebes (modern Luxor), in Upper Egypt. This was where the cult of the great god Amun of Thebes was conducted. Nearly every king from the New Kingdom (c.1550–1069 BC), Egypt’s age of empire, left his mark here in the form of temples, columns and statuary.

Columns at the Karnak Temple photo by Joan Naidorf

Walking around the grounds and noting some of the major artworks was compressed to two hours with our gregarious Egyptologist Mustafa. From Karnak we took the short bus ride to the center of modern-day Luxor where the Luxor Temple (constructed approximately 1400 BCE) resides.  The entryway is flanked by the majestic avenue of sphinxes. Some of the sphinxes and other statuary in Upper Egypt were defaced by early Christian crusaders who viewed them as idols.

Statuary at the Karnak Temple photo by Joan Naidorf

Multiple majestic statues of Ramses II stand at the Pylon of Luxor Temple. Amenhotep III, one of the great builders of ancient Egypt, constructed the temple during his New Kingdom reign, which lasted from 1390 to 1352 BC.  The temple appears to be one of the many projects the Ramesses II commissioned during his long reign. builder, Ramesses also repurposed many existing monuments to add to his own reputation. The statuary and carvings that decorate the temple today mainly feature Ramesses II.

Statues of Ramesses II at the the Temple of Luxor photo by Joan Naidorf

As one can see to the left in the picture, one Obelisk stands in front of the Luxor Temple. The other sits in the Place de Concorde in Paris. In 1830 the Sultan and Viceroy of Egypt, Mehemet Ali, decided to offer the two obelisks standing in front of the Luxor Temple (Thebes, Egypt) to King Charles X of France. Fortunately, they only took one of them.

Many of the treasures of ancient Egypt were defaced and many were stolen.  Some were just given away in diplomatic gestures and for favors. The Temple of Dendur is on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. In 1965, the Egyptian government gifted the Temple of Dendur to the United States government which helped save many Nubian monuments from drowning in the floods of Lake Nasser through the Aswan Dam project.

Selfie on the Nile River by Joan Naidorf