Karnak Temple | Bold – Majestic – Awe-Inspiring | Egypt Travel Blog: Day 5 (Part 41) 04D19

Egypt Travel Blog: 10 DAYS Egypt Explorer - Felucca Cruise & Red Sea

Exploring the Temples of Karnak | The Largest Religious Building Ever Constructed on Earth

After leaving the Lotus Luxor hotel, we drove through Aswan city to reach the Karnak Temple complex. The first thing you notice at the complex is that it is simply huge. Karnak Temple, so far, was the most grand ancient temple we had seen in Egypt.

Located on the east bank of the Nile River in Luxor and covering 200 acres or 1.5X0.8 km, Karnak Temple is the largest religious building ever constructed on Earth. It is a huge, complicated site with four courtyards, ten pylons, many buildings, and a sacred lake.

Construction started 4,000 years ago and continued until 2,000 years ago when the Romans took over Egypt. Each Egyptian ruler left his own architectural mark by adding a new piece to the temple.

Karnak Temple has three main sacred areas honouring three gods. The central part taking the largest space of the temple is dedicated to Amun-Ra, the chief god of Thebes. Then there is one part for the goddess Mut, wife of Amun and another section for Montu, an ancient local warrior god.

The Great Temple of Amun is Karnak's main temple building, where most visitors spend the most time. Colossal columns, mammoth statues, and oversized stonework covered in a dizzying amount of intricate carvings are just a few of the things that make the Great Temple of Amun the world's most stunning man-made structure.

I can’t describe the full complex, it would be like writing a book, so in very brief here are some of the sections you will find in The Great Temple of Amun. Each section is like a separate building and has its own awe-inspiring elements.

- First Pylon
- Great Court
- Temple of Ramses III
- Second Pylon
- The Great Hypostyle Hall and the Triumphal Inscription
- Third Pylon
- Central Court
- Fourth Pylon
- Fifth and Sixth Pylon
- First Hall of Records
- Court
- Second Hall of Records
- Great Festival Temple of Tuthmosis III
- Botanic Garden
- Seventh Pylon
- Eighth Pylon

Beyond the main temple building of The Great Temple of Amun, there are other sections, each one a separate temple or entity in the complex.

Northern Section from the main Great Temple of Amun

- Kiosk of Sesostris
- Temple of Ptah
- Temple of Montu

Eastern Section from the main Great Temple of Amun

- Temple of Ramses II
- Temple of Osiris
- East Gate

Southern Section from the main Great Temple of Amun

- Sacred Lake
- Temple of Khonsu
- Temple of Osiris and Opet
- Temple of Mut

If we had to see the full complex A to Z, I believe we would require 1-3 days at a slow pace. We completed our tour in only 1:30 to 2 hours, so it had to be fast. We concentrated mainly on the main temple building and had a glimpse of the rest.

From here, we would go to the Luxor Temple, which offers spectacular night views.