I toured through this amazing temple complex today, and was completely awestruck! I also got quite a bit of video for you all, but as I have yet to have enough bandwidth to upload any of it (And, well...let's face it people. Technology in general is not my strong suit. The fact that I am even blogging should be counted as a near-miracle!). SO, for the time being, again I will give you pictures.
The whole area is actually comprised of several areas that were added on over time to an original temple. Seen in the picture below, the enterance way is now absolutely gigantic and the whole complex is very expansive. It was also built in a "classic" style, with 2 pylons that made up the initial gate-way, opening onto a courtyard with 12 columns. Beyond that are 2 more pylons with more columns, but this area would have been covered. Lining the way into the whole area are dozens of ram sculptures, and obelisks would have been on either side as well. In ancient times, the Nile ran almost right up to this entry.
There isn't a single surface area of the original walls, columns, or ceilings that wasn't carved. Some of them, like the one here, are giant in scale (I'd say the figures in this one were approximately 15 feet high) while others were much smaller and intricately detailed. You can also see that once again, and much to my surprrise, you can see COLOR!!! If you look at the underside of the beam in the upper right-hand corner here, you'll see what I mean.
While you can get some sense of how much color there once would have been on all of the walls and columns- as well as how detailed much of it would have been- most of it was destroyed when the French came in around the turn of the century. There was a lot of salt that had built up on much of the stone. In thinking that it could just be washed off, one of the archeologists at the time had the wall around Karnak torn down to allow the Nile to wash through the area. Devastatingly, it not only washed away the salt, but also much of the paint that remained- as well as toppling and destroying quite a bit of the temples.
Standing inside the first area, they have rebuildt one of the 12 original columns, which you can see are just massive. Flanking the entry way into the next section are 2 large statues of Ramses II. This whole area, as well as the area just past, were the newest sections and -mostly- built by Ramses. However, there is evidence that his father had actually started the columns and building in this second area, and when he came in and took over he had his father's name scratched out and inserted his own.
Idiot.
The obelisks were wonderful in the area, with Hapshepsut's (The obelisk seen below on the left) in almost perfect condition. When her step-son took control of the kingdom, he wanted all evidence of her destroyed. However, as her obelisks were the largest (And heaviest) ever constructed, pulling it down would have meant potentailly destroying areas around it. So, he had it enclosed in stone... and thereby unknowingly preserved it against time!
Walking through different areas, you can definitely see the difference in styles of the art from the various periods that the complex had additions from. This was especially true of the faces that were on the statues.
This area below is in some of the oldest areas of the complex...and here again, look at the paint!!! All of the ceilings in every structure that we went into had some blue on them. I was told that every ceiling was painted blue with stars covering them to represent the sky.
As I was walking around (The complex expands off in either direction from the front 2 areas, and even include a small man-made lake that the Pharoah and priests would have used to purify themselves before coming into the temples) 2 small local guys motioned for me and said "Come! Come!" I said "No money!" but they insisted and shouted again. I told them again I wasn't giving them money, but they just kept motioning, so I walked over. They opened up a sealed wooden door and told me to go inside. This is what I saw:
Look how huge the columns are!!
Massive statues were all over the place, around just about every corner, and would have created long hallways of statues once.
Again here, you can see how every surface was just covered in carvings. Apparently, you can still see so much of the color (That of what remained after the French washed it away anyhow) because when Alexander the Great came through Egypt, he was extremely clever in how he concurred. He came into Egypt claiming himself to be one of the Pharaohs- in the same family line- and then went about in several areas restoring buildings and essentially doing good civic deeds. The people widely accepted him since the previous few rulers had done little to nothing for the people. Karnak was one such area that was restored...although even that was centuries ago!
Look closely at the detail that was painted at the top of each column!
Completely incredible! It was really beautiful inside, and this was in the oldest section of the area as well. There was also a delapitated looking stone in the middle of the room, with just a few partial sections of carving still left on it. One of the guys told me to come and look at it. There was a little area that looked as though it had been rubbed about a billion times, so much so that the rock was glossy. He said "You know what is? Cobra. Cobra. Snake." and then touched my hand, then touched the rock, then took his hand to touch the rock then his head. He motioned for me to do the same, and made me do it 3 times. Then he motioned that I touch then cobra and touch my heart 3 times as well. I still have no clue what this was all about, but he seemed very pleased. (I have probably now been cursed by the cobra or something, but... live and learn!)
All of Karnak was at one point joined by a very long road- the road of the Sphinx- to Luxor temple, about a mile or so away. Archeologists have just recently discovered this road and all the sphinx that lined either side of it. They are in the process of excavating more of it and hope to have the whole things open someday so that you can walk from Karnak straight to Luxor temple on this old roadway.
Although I have always been facinated and had an enormous respect for the ingenuity of the ancient Egyptians, what I've seen so far has just completely exceeded any expectations and made me that much more impressed. What an incredible trip I am having!
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