Nestled along the eastern bank of the Nile River in Luxor, Karnak Temple stands as a colossal testament to ancient Egypt’s devotion and architectural brilliance. Over 2,000 years in the making, it showcases the enduring legacy of pharaohs and craftsmen. Stepping into this vast complex is akin to time travel, immersing you in an era where gods and rulers coexisted and monumental structures rose to honor them. Join us on an exploration of Karnak Temple’s grandeur, spiritual significance, and captivating mysteries—an awe-inspiring journey through Egypt’s rich history.

Where is the Temple of Karnak?

The Karnak temple is located in Luxor Governorate, south of Egypt, on the eastern bank of the Nile River.

Karnak Temple Location

When was Karnak Temple built?

The Karnak Temple was erected between 2055 BC and 100 AD. It was founded as a religious temple for the Thebaid triad, represented by the gods Amun, Mut, and Khonsu. Being the largest structure for religious dedications ever to be built, the Karnak Temple was identified as the “most select of places” by the ancient Egyptians. 

Karnak Temple

The Divine Legacy of Karnak Temple: Amun, Mut, and Khonsu 

Divine Legacy of Karnak Temple

Amun God

Amun was the Egyptian God of the air and sun. He was regarded as one of the most vital gods in ancient Egypt, especially during the beginning of the growth of the New Kingdom from 1570 to 1069 BC.

Amun God

Mut goddess

Mut was a goddess worshiped by the ancient Egyptians. The meaning of her name is mother, and consequently, she was recognized as the mother goddess. In some myths, she was identified as the mother of the whole, while others recognized her as the mother of the God Khonsu, the God of the moon.

Mut Goddess

Khonsu God

Khonsu was the God of the Moon. The meaning of his name is ‘traveler’. He was the son of Amun and Mut.

The Importance of the Karnak Temple

Importance of Karnak Temple

Karnak Temple is considered one of the best attractions in Luxor. During the New Kingdom period, the Karnak Temple was the center of the ancient faith, while authority was concentrated at Thebes, and its importance is reflected in its vast size. It was also assisted as a treasury and administrative center for the New Kingdom kings. It is considered the largest Temple ever constructed anywhere in the world.

It developed over more than 1000 years, added to by generation after generation of kings and resulting in a collection of temples, courts, sanctuaries, pylons, and other decorations that are supreme throughout Egypt. While the height of its prominence was during the New Kingdom and the reigns of well-known pharaohs such as Queen Hatshepsut, Tuthmose III, Seti I and Ramesses II, all contributed noteworthy additions to the complex, construction continued till the Greco-Roman Period and early Christians all left their mark there.

 

Visiting the Karnak Temple Complex

Amun’s Legacy & Temple of Amun

The great Temple of God Amun is situated in the center of the entire complex. It has a two-fold orientation: an east-west axis and a north-south one. The east-west axis, incorporating the first to sixth pylons, corresponded to the trajectory of the sun: the solar and celestial axis. The north-south axis, incorporating the seventh to tenth pylons, ran parallel to the course of the Nile and was a real and earthly axis.

Temple of Amun

Plan of Karnak Temple

First Pylon at Karnak Temple

The first pylon of Karnak is located at the far west of the complex and is the main entrance to the Temple today. It is approached through a way flanked by two obelisks of Seti II and a double row of ram-headed sphinxes, which Ramses II erected. The first pylon was probably constructed to replace the western wall and gateway of the court of Shoshenq I, which functioned as the western entrance to the Temple in the Third Intermediate Period. This structure may have been built as late as the 30th dynasty by Nectanebo I, who at least constructed the Temenos walls to which the pylon is attached. 

First Pylon at Karnak Temple

The Great Court at Karnak Temple

It was built during the 22nd dynasty, particularly by Shashanq I. The southeast exterior wall of the court was decorated with a series of famous scenes portraying the king triumphing over his enemies in Syro-Palestine. Centered within the courtyard are the remains of the kiosk of Tahrqa. It also records the name of Ptolemy IV. 

The large kiosk of 10 open papyrus columns was linked by low screen walls and was usurped by Psammetichus and restored by the Ptolemies, but only one large column survives now on the right of the picture, together with fragmentary columns and the large block of calcite in the foreground. Two statues of New Kingdom Pharaohs, probably Ramses II, are just visible in front of the gateway of the Second Pylon.

Great Court at Karnak Temple

The Temple of Ramses III  

On the right, there is a small temple built by Ramses III: 

Ramses III Temple is the only standing Temple in Egypt and was built by one monarch. The Temple includes three bark chapels, a hypostyle hall consisting of eight columns, a vestibule with four columns, and an open court. The court is flanked by statues of King Ramses in his Jubilee costumes. They represent him while receiving the sign of life from Amun.  

Temple of Ramses III

 

The Chapel of Senusert I at Karnak Temple

It is a nearly complete limestone bark shrine. It is a small, simple, but powerful structure, built of alabaster and most distinguished for its inscriptions. Ramps led up on either side to a smaller rectangular building, positioned on a platform, in which King Senusret I himself maybe sat enthroned during part of his Heb Sed festival. There are 12 pillars around the kiosk, with another four in the interior. The different nomes of Egypt are recorded in columns on the parapet.

Chapel of Senusert I

The Chapel of Hatshepsut

The Red Chapel of Queen Hatshepsut was a bark shrine constructed with a base and doorways of black granite with walls of red quartzite. Truly, the color of the red quartzite varies, so the ancient craftsmen painted the whole block a uniform red color. It may begun about four years before Hatshepsut’s death, and her successor, Thutmose III, may have sustained work on the chapel, nevertheless finished it.

Chapel of Hatshepsut

The Second pylon of Karnak Temple

Horemheb significantly extended the Amun-Ra temple to the west by the construction of a new pylon and gateway. During the time of its construction, it fronted an open court that led to the third pylon of Amenhotep III. Ramesses I later completed the decoration of Horemheb and then replaced all of Horemheb’s cartouches with his own. Ramses II later replaced some of Ramses I’s scenes. 

Second Pylon at Karnak Temple

The great hypostyle hall

Its roof is supported by 134 columns in 2 groups of rows, a northern and a southern group. And 12 open papyrus columns lined the raised central aisle. North and south of the central aisle stood 122 closed-bud papyrus-form columns (61 on each side). The first row of these columns on either side of the central aisle supported the stone ceiling and clerestory windows.

On the outside of the hall are recorded some important historical events. They depict the campaigns of Seti I and Ramses II to Asia. There is a record of the first treaty in mankind. It was between Ramses II and the Hittites. The relives also depict the battle of Qadesh and a battle against the Libyans.

Hypostyle Hall at Karnak Temple

The Third Pylon of Karnak Temple

The pylon was built by Amenhotep III. The inscribed decoration glorifies the jubilee (heb-sed) festival of Amenhotep III. It presents the king and the God’s sacred bark on a festival journey to Luxor temple. Originally, some scenes depicted the king’s son accompanying his father, but these depictions of a young Amenhotep IV/Akhenaten were later defaced. 

Third Pylon at Karnak Temple

Festival Hall of Thutmose II at Karnak Temple

The pylon and “festival court” of Thutmose II originally stood behind the 3rd pylon. These structures were completely destroyed because of the construction at the site and can’t be seen in their original location at Karnak. A number of kings made architectural additions to the hall, most of which also disappeared during the reworking of the area.

Festival Hall of Thutmose II

The Fourth pylon

Thutmose I constructed the Fourth Pylon. Beyond this pylon is the Wadjet Hall, which was constructed by Thutmose I too. It is a peristyle hall with Osiride statues. This part of the Temple later received additions, including two obelisks of Queen Hatshepsut, one of which remains while the other shattered one lies nearby to the south on a concrete block.

Fourth Pylon at Karnak Temple

The Fifth pylon

The Fifth Pylon was constructed by Thutmose I.  

Fifth Pylon at Karnak Temple

The Sixth pylon of Karnak Temple

There are just a few remains of the sixth pylon, which Thutmose III built. However, the walls still retain the lists of conquered peoples of the south (southern wall) and the north (northern wall). This pylon fronts a court with two magnificent granite pillars bearing the floral emblems of Upper and Lower Egypt on the respective northern and southern sides. On the court’s north side are two large statues of Amun and Amaunet, which were dedicated by Tutankhamun.

Sixth Pylon at Karnak Temple

The Middle Kingdom court

A large, virtually empty square space stands in the center of Karnak today, as very little remains of the Middle Kingdom temple that once marked the heart of Amun-Ra’s cult. Only a series of rose granite doorway sills, and a large calcite altar from the original Temple can still be seen today. This area is now called the “Middle Kingdom Court.”

Middle Kingdom Court at Karnak Temple

Festival temple of Thutmose III (Akhmenu)

The Akhmenu was a large, rectangular temple located in the eastern part of Karnak, just outside of the original early 18th Dynasty temple complex. 

The southwest entrance led to a line of nine small chambers to the south and a short vestibule on the north. A small room north of the entrance corridor, known as the “hall of ancestors,” was the location of a type of king list; sixty-one kings, the royal ancestors of Thutmose III, were depicted seated and receiving offerings from the king. 

Depictions of exotic flora and fauna sighted by the king on his military campaign are inscribed onto the walls of the famous “botanical room,” located in the Temple’s northeast section.

Festival Temple of Thutmose III

Temple of the hearing ear

It was built by Tuthmosis III adjacent to the 18th dynasty temple enclosure. This Temple allowed common Egyptians to worship God Amun. This structure also once contained a single obelisk on the central axis. Though not certain, this may have been the Lateran Obelisk now in Rome. This Temple once stretched almost to the rear gate of the Karnak complex.

 

Temple of the Hearing Ear

The Sacred Lake at Karnak Temple

It is now filled with groundwater. It supplied water for the priests’ ablutions as well as for other temple requirements. The lake is lined with roughhewn stone.

Sacred Lake at Karnak Temple

The Seventh Pylon

Thutmose III constructed it, though the side walls are the work of Merenptah. The courtyard behind it is also known as the “Courtyard of the Cachette”, for it was at the southern end of it that are discovered some 20,000 statues and stelae in 1904.

Seventh Pylon at Karnak Temple

The Eighth Pylon

It was built by Queen Hatshepsut.

Eighth Pylon at Karnak Temple

The Ninth pylon

Karnak 9 Pylon was built during the reign of Horemheb.

Ninth Pylon at Karnak Temple

The tenth pylon

It was raised by Horemheb, who made considerable use of stone quarried from the Temple of Akhenaton. 

Tenth Pylons at Karnak Temple

Interesting Facts about the Karnak Temple

• Karnak is considered an open-air museum. It is the largest religious structure or site in the world.
• The 54,000 square feet Hypostyle Hall in the Temple is large enough to fit the Notre Dame Cathedral comfortably.
• Over eighty thousand slaves and servants were assigned the task of serving God Amu Ra in Karnak temple. Also, five thousand statues were established in his honor.

conclusion

Karnak Temple is a mesmerizing testament to ancient Egyptian grandeur, a place where history comes alive. As you explore its colossal pillars and intricate hieroglyphs, you’ll embark on a journey through time. But the magic doesn’t end here. Karnak Temple is just the beginning of the treasures Luxor holds. Nearby attractions such as the enchanting Luxor Temple, the captivating Valley of the Kings, and the tranquil Luxor Museum await your discovery. With each step, Luxor unveils the secrets of an extraordinary civilization, making your visit an unforgettable voyage through the ages.