Tempelstaden i karnak
The Pharaonic kingdoms may be long gone, but their power lives on in this triumphant testament of stone. The walls encircling the lake are well preserved on the west, south, and north sides, from which steps lead down to the water. A short avenue of sphinxes, set up by Ramses XI, the last of the Ramessids, leads to the Temple of Khonsu, dedicated to the Theban moon god son of Amun and Mut , a characteristic example of the architecture of the New Kingdom.
South of these remains, to the east of the Sacred Lake , are the remains of a brick building dating from before the Middle Kingdom. The temple is so badly ruined that it is difficult to even make out the ground plan, but the older fragments of sculpture and architectural elements display a high standard of artistic skill. Every pharaoh worth their salt added and amended the buildings here during their reign, stamping their seal on the kingdom's most revered religious sanctuary.
For Karnak was the house of the gods, and its glories were to be feted by all. Sesostris is only one of the common anglicizations of this pharaoh's name, and you'll also see this building referred to as the kiosk or white chapel of Senusret I. The kiosk stands on a substructure and is approached by ramps on the east and west sides. Built of fine limestone, it was erected to commemorate Pharaoh Sesostris I's jubilee.
These once ran all the way to Karnak from Luxor Temple in downtown modern Luxor , as the triumphant three-kilometer-long thoroughfare connecting the two temples. It was built by Amenophis III 18th Dynasty , but was several times altered and enlarged down to the period of the Ptolemies. In front of the doorway there was originally a hall dating from the reign of Taharqa, with 20 columns linked by screens.
The temple was built by Ramses III, but the reliefs, apart from those in the innermost chambers, which were completed during his reign, were executed during the reigns of his successors Ramses IV and XII and the priest king Herihor, who also built the forecourt. Big, bold, and hugely ambitious, Luxor's mammoth Temple of Karnak complex is one of Ancient Egypt's grandest building projects. Tempelstaden i Karnak eller Karnak är det tempelkomplex i Egypten som en gång var en del av den antika huvudstaden Thebe.
Use our visitor's guide to exploring the Temples of Karnak to help you navigate and understand this vast complex on your visit. Ta chansen att besöka faraonernas huvudstad och se dess imponerande arkitektoniska arv. In the enclosure wall to the south of the temple is a gateway with the name of Nectanebo II and the remains of a list of the people he subdued.
In the walls are six niches, and a staircase leads to an upper story. In the Sanctuary is the cult image of Ptah now headless , which is lit, with magical effect, by an aperture in the roof. The entrance passage leads into a Court, on the rear side of which is a portico with two sided columns. Beyond the Temple of Ramses II, to the east, is the well-preserved East Gate now closed in the brick enclosure wall, which surrounded the whole temple precinct.
The temple is approached from the west through five successive gateways. The Great Temple of Amun is Karnak's main temple building , and like nearly all of Egypt's surviving monuments, the temple has seen additions and improvements by the hands of many pharaohs over the centuries. Karnak var huvudtemplet för Amonkulten, men även andra gudar och gudinnor tillbads där. At the end of the passage is a small Pylon with the names of Tuthmosis III restored in the Ptolemaic period on the doorway.
Karnak är också namnet på en närbelägen by. The shape of the temple you see before you now is mostly due to Pharaoh Tuthmosis I, who made Thebes capital of the New Kingdom and expanded the original modest temple here, as it no longer seemed adequate to the power of the god and the pharaoh. The entrance doorway, on the east side, leads into a hall with two Osiris pillars, behind which is a narrow Hypostyle Hall. [1] Den ligger omkring 3 km norr om Luxortemplet.
If you're short of time, the Great Temple of Amun is the main building and should be your key destination, but plenty of scattered temple remnants in various ruinous states surround it.
Exploring the Temples of Karnak: A Visitor's Guide
In recent years, excavation work in downtown Luxor has uncovered large sections of this original processional way, though the section leading to the entrance to the Karnak complex remains the most impressive. Besök Luxors monument under en trevlig heldagsutflykt från Hurghada. In the vicinity are a number of small chapels of the 26th Dynasty. Most of your time in Karnak will be spent inside this awe-inspiring building , but don't make the mistake of thinking this is all the Karnak complex has to offer.
You enter the complex through a grand processional way, flanked on both sides by ram-headed sphinxes. The roof is borne on 24 pillars, which, like the outer walls, are covered with reliefs of excellent quality. Beyond this is a passage formed by four columns with rich foliage capitals, linked by screens. Beundra Tempelstaden i Karnak, Konungarnas dal, Memnons stoder och drottning Hatshepsuts tempel. Outside the north entrance stood two obelisks of red granite, of which the bases and some fragments still remain.
Here, on the doorway, you can see restored reliefs dating from the reign of Tuthmosis III, while the Sanctuary preserves original reliefs of that period. In the center of the court, a door leads into the temple's sanctuary.
Karnak: The City of Temples
It sits snug against the Karnak complex's northern boundary wall. Just after the eastern exit of the Great Temple of Amun , beyond an unexcavated mound of rubble, is the badly ruined Temple of Ramses II, built on the same axis as the principal temple, which cuts across an older brick enclosure wall. Although sacked by the Assyrian and Persian armies and looted and pilfered by early explorers and travelers, who carted off statues and masonry, there are few other temple complexes in the world that are still so commanding and majestic today.
To the right is a room containing a statue of the lion-headed goddess Sekhmet, and to the left, another room with reliefs of Tuthmosis III. From the small Temple of Ptah, a gateway in the north enclosure wall gives access to the Northern Temple Precinct surrounded by a brick wall. On the north side is a structure built by Tuthmosis III. Near the northwest corner are the ruins of a building erected by Kushite Pharaoh Taharqa, and on the edge of the lake is a large granite scarab dedicated by Amenophis III to the sun god Atum-Khepri, who was represented in the form of a scarab.