Karnak

Karnak ( Al-Karnak , الكرنك, “the strengthened village”) is the Arab name of an Egyptian village near to the antique quoted of Thèbes. It is located at three kilometers in the north of the temple of Louxor, close to banks of the the Nile. It is known to shelter the most important religious center of the ancient Egypt, the temple of Karnak. The visitors, in particular the foreign tourists, often do not make the distinction between Karnak and Louxor.

Temple of Karnak

The Karnak temple located close to Thèbes, the religious capital, is largest and the richest religious center of Egypt. Its Egyptian name is Ipet Sout , generally translated by “That which counts the Places”. i-p: T there 1V-St-St-St-T: O49

It is a vast museum with open sky and the known religious site oldest in the world. It seems that it is the second site more visited of Egypt after that of the large pyramids of Gizeh close to the Cairo.

During many centuries, the temple of Karnak was the principal religious center of Egypt. It was also the principal temple of the worship of Amon, but like many other Egyptian temples, other gods and goddesses were venerated there. Indeed, it is composed of four parts, from which only one is currently accessible:

• the Pregnant Amon-Re ;
• the Pregnant of Montou;
• the Pregnant Must ;
• the temple of Amenhotep {{IV}}.

Moreover, there exist several small temples and sanctuaries located apart from the walls closing the four principal parts.

It is in ruins today but one about it knows paradoxically much things. The construction of the temple will have lasted nearly 2000 years. Ramsès {{II}} and his/her son Mineptah lived there as well as other kings who, progressively, added monuments there. It is the principal difference between Karnak and the other temples and sites of Egypt. About thirty Pharaons contributed to his construction, allowing him to reach a size, a complexity and a diversity very important.

At the entry, there is a dromos, gone bordered of Criosphinx . These criosphinx, of the statues with head of ram and body of sphinx, is the crowned animals of the Amon god. One put some on the two sides of the entry, believer whom they would push back the forces of the evil. Their function first was however to protect the Pharaon when it came to adore itself Amon with Karnak.

Immediately while entering the complex is the temple of Séthi {{II}}, on the left. A little further and right before the hypostyle Room, two statues of Amon frames the passage.

After having passed the second pylon, one arrives in the hypostyle room. It is made up of very many columns, the majority having kept their inscriptions. Some even preserved colors. The light was not very important in this room but it filtered despite everything thanks to interstices left in the ceiling.

The sanctuary is all at the bottom of the temple. In Egypt, to build a temple, one always started with the sanctuary. What wants to say that the temple of Karnak was built starting from the bottom and was finished by the entry. Opposite the temple of Karnak, there was the Lac crowned. The priests with the shaven heads purified there. In all there are ten pylons, six in the East-West axis and four in the North-South axis.

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