Ancient Egypt
Thebes
Temple of Karnak
Karnak is a city of temples built over 2000 years. The temples were dedicated to the gods Amon, Mut, and Khonsu. Amon was an insignificant local god until the 12th dynasty when Thebes became the capital of Egypt. The temple covers and area of about 200 acres.
This is the courtyard of the Temple of Ramesses III who reigned during the XX Dynasty.
The Hypostyle Hall is filled with huge columns that are 23 meters high. This structure with 54,000 square feet is the largest room of any religious building in the world.
Temple of Luxor
The Temple of Luxor or Temple of Amon-Ra is located about a mile south from Karnak. The first pylon was built by Ramesses II. At the time of its completion it was preceded by two obelisks, two seated colossi and two pairs of standing colossi.
The temple was built by Amenhotep III and completed by Ramesses II.
The Temple of Luxor and the Temple of Karnak were joined by a long stone paved avenue lined with sphinxes with rams heads. These were replaced with sphinxes with human heads during the XXX Dynasty. The photo on the left shows one of those sphinxes.
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