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egypt luxor
Karnak Temples
Leading to the temples is the avenue of the rams , representing the supreme Theban god Amon,symbol of fertility and growth. Beneath the rams heads, small statues of Ramses II were carved .
Karnak is composed of a vast complex of temples, chapels and other buildings of various dates. The name Karnak comes from the nearby village of El-Karnak. Whereas Luxor to the South was Ipet-Ray,Karnak was ancient Ipet-Isut,the most select of places.
Theban kings and the god Amon came to prominence at the beginning of the Middle Kingdom. From that time,the temples of Karnak were built,enlarged,torn down,added to,and restored over more than 2000 years until Roman times.
The ancient Egyptians considered Ipet-Isut as the place of the initial rising of the first time, where Amon-Ra made the first mound of Earth rise from Nun. At Karnak,the high priests recognized a king as the beloved son of Amon,king of all the gods.
The coronations and jubilees were also held here. Staffed by more than 80,000 people under Ramesses III,the temple was also the administrative center of enormous holdings of agricultural land.
The largest and most important part of the site is the central enclosure, the great temple of Amon proper. The layout of the great temple consists of a series of pylons of various dates. The earliest are Pylons IV and V,built by Tuhtmosis I,and from then on the temple was enlarged towards the West and South. Courts or halls run between the pylons,leading to the main sanctuary.
The temple is built along two axes, with a number of smaller temples and chapels and a sacred lake. The northern enclosure belongs to Montu, the original god of the Theban area, while the enclosure of Mut lies to the south and is connected with Amon's precinct by an alley of ram-headed sphinxes. An avenue bordered by sphinxes linked Karnak with the Luxor Temple, and canals connected the temples of Amon and Montu with the Nile.
egypt luxor
Karnak Temples
Leading to the temples is the avenue of the rams , representing the supreme Theban god Amon,symbol of fertility and growth. Beneath the rams heads, small statues of Ramses II were carved .
Karnak is composed of a vast complex of temples, chapels and other buildings of various dates. The name Karnak comes from the nearby village of El-Karnak. Whereas Luxor to the South was Ipet-Ray,Karnak was ancient Ipet-Isut,the most select of places.
Theban kings and the god Amon came to prominence at the beginning of the Middle Kingdom. From that time,the temples of Karnak were built,enlarged,torn down,added to,and restored over more than 2000 years until Roman times.
The ancient Egyptians considered Ipet-Isut as the place of the initial rising of the first time, where Amon-Ra made the first mound of Earth rise from Nun. At Karnak,the high priests recognized a king as the beloved son of Amon,king of all the gods.
The coronations and jubilees were also held here. Staffed by more than 80,000 people under Ramesses III,the temple was also the administrative center of enormous holdings of agricultural land.
The largest and most important part of the site is the central enclosure, the great temple of Amon proper. The layout of the great temple consists of a series of pylons of various dates. The earliest are Pylons IV and V,built by Tuhtmosis I,and from then on the temple was enlarged towards the West and South. Courts or halls run between the pylons,leading to the main sanctuary.
The temple is built along two axes, with a number of smaller temples and chapels and a sacred lake. The northern enclosure belongs to Montu, the original god of the Theban area, while the enclosure of Mut lies to the south and is connected with Amon's precinct by an alley of ram-headed sphinxes. An avenue bordered by sphinxes linked Karnak with the Luxor Temple, and canals connected the temples of Amon and Montu with the Nile.