Long Ago in a Far Away Land
Found During an Excavation of my Archives 😅
Obelisk and Statues at Luxor Temple, Egypt
Luxor is a city on the east bank of the Nile River in southern Egypt. It's on the site of ancient Thebes, the pharaohs’ capital at the height of their power, during the 16th–11th centuries B.C. Today's city surrounds two huge, surviving ancient monuments: graceful Luxor Temple and Karnak Temple, a mile north. The royal tombs of the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens are on the river’s west bank.
Luxor Temple is an accretion of structures erected by succeeding kings. The principal entrance today is the Pylon of Ramesses II (c.1279-1213 B.C.E.), which is flanked by two seated statues of the king (one is behind the obelisk) and one standing statue (of an original four). The remaining obelisk of pink granite is situated in front of the easternmost seated statue. The western obelisk was removed and has stood in the Place de la Concorde in Paris since 1836. The vertical niches held flag staffs.
The pylon was half buried in sand until the 1800s but when cleared it revealed two towers measuring 24 meters high and 65 meters wide. They are carved in sunken relief depicting Ramesses at the battle of Kadesh.
The pylon entranceway is suggestive of the Egyptian hieroglyph which means "horizon." In the hieroglyph, the circle of the sun is flanked by two stylized mountain shapes. Most Egyptian temples had an east-west axis so that the sun would symbolically rise and set between these pylon/mountains. Luxor Temple, however, has a north-south axis.
Two colossal, seated statues flank the entrance pylon of Luxor Temple. They are 46 feet/14meters in height. Ramesses II (c.1279-1213 B.C.E.) wears the royal headdress topped by the Double Crown of Upper and Lower Egypt.
(Canon PowerShot, 1/30 @ f/2.8, IS0 250)
Long Ago in a Far Away Land
Found During an Excavation of my Archives 😅
Obelisk and Statues at Luxor Temple, Egypt
Luxor is a city on the east bank of the Nile River in southern Egypt. It's on the site of ancient Thebes, the pharaohs’ capital at the height of their power, during the 16th–11th centuries B.C. Today's city surrounds two huge, surviving ancient monuments: graceful Luxor Temple and Karnak Temple, a mile north. The royal tombs of the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens are on the river’s west bank.
Luxor Temple is an accretion of structures erected by succeeding kings. The principal entrance today is the Pylon of Ramesses II (c.1279-1213 B.C.E.), which is flanked by two seated statues of the king (one is behind the obelisk) and one standing statue (of an original four). The remaining obelisk of pink granite is situated in front of the easternmost seated statue. The western obelisk was removed and has stood in the Place de la Concorde in Paris since 1836. The vertical niches held flag staffs.
The pylon was half buried in sand until the 1800s but when cleared it revealed two towers measuring 24 meters high and 65 meters wide. They are carved in sunken relief depicting Ramesses at the battle of Kadesh.
The pylon entranceway is suggestive of the Egyptian hieroglyph which means "horizon." In the hieroglyph, the circle of the sun is flanked by two stylized mountain shapes. Most Egyptian temples had an east-west axis so that the sun would symbolically rise and set between these pylon/mountains. Luxor Temple, however, has a north-south axis.
Two colossal, seated statues flank the entrance pylon of Luxor Temple. They are 46 feet/14meters in height. Ramesses II (c.1279-1213 B.C.E.) wears the royal headdress topped by the Double Crown of Upper and Lower Egypt.
(Canon PowerShot, 1/30 @ f/2.8, IS0 250)