Exploring Jordan and Egypt

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Monday, February 28, 2022 - Our first day on the Nile River cruise -flew from Cairo to Luxor, boarded the SS Sphinx on the Nile, and visited the vast Karnak Temple complex with its giant columns, ram-headed sphinxes, obelisks, and detailed hieroglyphs before sailing downstream toward Cairo with views of river life from the ship's deck.

egypt2022 — Construction began in 2000 BC and continued until 300 BC. It is very large, and we were only able to visit a small portion. This is the entrance from the Nile which used to flow very close to the Temple.

egypt2022 — Ram headed sphinxes line the entrance to the Temple.

egypt2022 — Under the chins of the Ram sphinx are statues of Ramesses II - many are missing.

egypt2022 — Hieroglyphs on the walls.

egypt2022 — Looking down the Great Hypostyle Hall into the Temple Karnak

Karnak is an open-air museum. It is considered to be the largest religious building or site in the world. The 54,000 square feet Great Hypostyle Hall in the Karnak Temple is large enough to fit the Cathedral of Notre Dame comfortably.

egypt2022 — A line of ram headed sphinx inside Karnak Temple

The ram was a symbol of the god Amun, the chief deity worshipped in the Great Temple of Karnak.

egypt2022 — Statue of Ramesses II (Ramesses the Great) and his wife Nefertari, she is a bit smaller.

While the height of its importance was during the New Kingdom and during the reigns of famous pharaohs such as Hatshepsut, Tuthmose III, Seti I and Ramesses II, all contributed significant additions to the complex, construction continued into the Greco-Roman Period with the Ptolemies, Romans, and early Christians all leaving their mark there.

egypt2022 — Wadjet Hall was built by Thutmose I, near the main sanctuary. The hall measures about 246 feet by 46 feet. The hall was used for the king's coronation.

egypt2022 — The obelisk of Thutmose I from between the columns in Hypostyle Hall.

egypt2022 — Colorful art in the Great Hypostyle Hall.

egypt2022 — Ramesses II also decorated each of the twelve columns in Great Hypostyle Hall, with two scenes depicting him offering to the gods. One scene faced west towards the main entrance of the temple and the other faced towards the main aisle so that the scene faced south on the northern row of columns and north on the southern row.

egypt2022 — Looking up the giant columns of Great Hypostyle Hall - each is 70 feet in height and capped by a huge open papyrus blossom.

egypt2022 — Art on the giant columns.

egypt2022 — A procession of gods on a Nile barge.

egypt2022 — The 122 columns which comprise the bulk of this vast stone forest 40 feet high. They are only "small" in comparison to the 12 great columns in the nave. The smaller columns have closed-bud papyrus capitals imitating stalks which have not bloomed.

egypt2022 — Anubis - the fox/jackal headed god of dead.

egypt2022 — The obelisk of Thutmose I from between the columns in Hypostyle Hall.

egypt2022 — In the Central Court of Karnak Temple is the obelisk of Thutmose I (1493-1479 BC). This is the last of four obelisks which originally stood in front of the Fourth Pylon, which, in the time of Thutmose I, was the entrance to Karnak Temple. The obelisk is 71 feet in height and weighs about 143 tons. The obelisk is single shaft of red granite quarried at Aswan.

egypt2022 — Carvings outside in the Third Pylon was built a few decades before the Hypostyle Hall in the reign of Amenhotep III (1390-1352 BC).

egypt2022 — Our friend the scarab flanked by the obelisk of Thutmosis I on the left and the obelisk of his daughter, the woman pharaoh, Hatshepsut.

There were 12 obelisks in Temple Karnak. Only two survived the ages.

egypt2022 — The Sacred Lake within the walls of the Temple of Karnak.

egypt2022 — The official tour ended and Cal went off exploring - for a fee, some security guards let him into the eighth pylon of the temple which is undergoing reconstruction.

This is the south facade of the eighth pylon, constructed by Queen Hapshepsut. The best preserved limestone statue at left is King Amenhotep I, and to his left is a small statue of a seated figure. It's not clear who the other statues are, although the west doorpost has the cartouches of Tutmosis II and the east doorpost has the cartouches of Tutmosis III associated with the Queen.

egypt2022 — Once we were all back on the SS Sphinx we were underway headed downstream toward Cairo. On the top deck it was all open under a canvas cover - perfect for watching the shore go by with a beer.

Fisherman on the Nile.

egypt2022 — As we passed everyone on the shore would come out and wave.

egypt2022 — Many crops all along the Nile - here a woman carries something along the water's edge.

egypt2022 — Little donkeys were all along the banks doing work.

egypt2022 — A little boy and a little donkey.

egypt2022 — Little girls enjoy sugarcane

egypt2022 — Sunset from the ship - on the shore a mosque.

The ship was very nice - the top deck was open and had a small bar. We discovered the local beer - Sakara (named after the ancient city we believe). It was very smooth and a nice way to watch the sunset.

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