A place of pilgrimage for thousands of years, we started our own trip to Karnak by walking the 3km from the centre of Luxor along the Nile. When Thebes was the capital of unified Ancient Egypt Karnak became a place of religious significance for the god Amun-Ra, who was at the height of his popularity, with most of the construction done in his honour. We arrived in the midst of a continuous rumble of coach loads of tourists, an inescapable reality of visiting Egypt!
The path up to Karnak is flanked by statues of Khnum, some incredibly intact given their age (1550BC). This ram-headed god was believed to have created humans on his potters wheel and we always admired his talent, considering the use of his hoofs! Entering the first court we were greeted by huge statues of cross-armed men who adorn the pillars holding up the surrounding buildings. Although each individual may be missing a part of their face or body, seen together its easy to conjure up their past glory.
Whilst investigating entrances and rooms that ran off this courtyard, we found ourselves reeled in by an unofficial tour-guide who insinuated he had something good to show us. As it turned out he just wanted some money for taking some pictures of us in easily one of the most unimpressive areas! These ‘guides’ jump out from behind columns throughout the site and often want to be paid for pointing to something you are already looking at. You will have to be firm to get rid of them. If you do want a tour guide hiring an official one at the entrance will undoubtedly be a better bet.
Having fled our photographer we reached the great Hypostyle Hall at the heart of the Amun temple enclosure. The size and scale is immediately striking, made up of gigantic columns upholding a roof that no longer exists. Wandering through these towering pillars is like winding your way through a Jurassic forest. Every inch of these beautifully rounded trunks are covered in hieroglyphics, many so precise they looked like they have been stamped in with modern machinery. We particularly enjoyed spotting the cartouches; hieroglyphics written vertically within an oval that depict a royal name.
The proliferation of hieroglyphics is truly staggering, everywhere you look, on every surface these intricate pictures are drawn. In places not weathered by the elements the dazzling bright colours of the original design still remain. Not only are they artistically beautiful but they also represent a sophisticated language, culture and belief system. The hieroglyphics alone make you appreciate how progressive the Ancient Egyptians were.
The Hypostyle Hall is a gigantic feat of engineering however there is plenty more to see in this vast site. One of the best parts about exploring Karnak is losing yourself in the multitude of chambers dedicated to different gods and weaving your way through the fallen archaeology. Even though there are a lot of tourists here it is possible to still feel like you are uncovering new treasures at every turn. Hieroglyphs continue to abound and the fact that they were each carved by hand makes you think of the individual workers that made this spectacular site what it is. The hieroglyphs are symbolic of different things and have meaning to this day. One of the unofficial tour-guides that ambushed us was adamant that we rub the scarab and touch our hearts for good luck.
This giant religious site is truly astonishing and definitely worth a visit. Like many places in Egypt their is little interpretation however we found our guide book alongside our imaginations was enough to bring Karnak to life.
