Day 6 -- Soaring Columns

On Day 5 of our adventure we journeyed once more to the east bank of the Nile, this time visiting the City of Thebes and the striking Temple of Karnak.

The ancient Egyptians knew the Temple of Karnak as Ipet-isu or “most select of places.” It is a city of temples built over a span of 2,000 years. This amazing group of ruins is still capable of overshadowing many wonders of the modern world and in its day must have been awe-inspiring.

For the largely uneducated ancient Egyptian population, this could only have been the place of the gods. It is the largest religious building ever made, covering about 200 acres, and was a place of pilgrimage for nearly 2,000 years. The great temple at the heart of Karnak is so big that St Peter’s, Milan, and Notre Dame Cathedrals would fit within its walls.

This model was made to show the vast layout of the temple.

An antique aerial view was framed on the wall.

This is how the temple may have looked in ancient times.

Our first view was rather hazy. However the long avenue leading to the temple was impressive. 

As we approached the pylon, there was much analysis.

Once again we saw the Avenue of Sphinxes that runs from the Karnak Temple to the temple at Luxor for 2.7 kilometers.

Today visitors to the Avenue of Sphinxes can traverse the entire 3km stretch of the avenue as they visit the Karnak and Luxor temple complex. There are some sphinxes lost to time or damage, but almost every pedestal remains.

Inside the Karnak Temple complex, the Hypostyle hall, at 54,000 square feet (16,459 meters) and featuring 134 columns, is still the largest room of any religious building in the world. In addition to the main sanctuary there are several smaller temples and a vast sacred lake – 423 feet by 252 feet. The sacred barges of the Theban Triad once floated on the lake during the annual Opet Festival. The lake was surrounded by storerooms and living quarters for the priests, along with an aviary for aquatic birds.

Just standing (or leaning) there and looking up was astounding.

We walked through the Great Hypostyle Hall; its expertly aligned columns, the largest of which is 80 feet high with a 33-foot circumference. They are a sight to behold.

Privately, Hubby D and I laughed -- every time we heard "Karnak" we thought of Johnny Carson.  Guess we are showing our age. LOL

On the south side of the main temple area is the Temple of Mut. As we walked toward this area, we noticed a filming crew with a drone flying over the main complex. We were told they were filming parts of the ruins where it was hard to document the carvings. It was fun to watch them work.

These are the drone operators.

The drone is in front of the obelisk.

The picture above of the drone was taken and enlarged from this shot. 

Because our group was so small, it was very easy for us to talk with Raafat and ask questions. 

We returned to the ship and after another wonderful lunch, Hubby D took advantage of the lounge chairs on the top deck as we sailed the Nile River.

That afternoon we sailed to Esna passing through the Aswan Old Dam navigation locks. The Aswan Old Dam  was designed as a gravity-buttress dam and was constructed of rubble masonry then faced with red ashlar granite. Construction started in 1898 and lasted until 1902. The Old Dam was built to help with annual floods of the Nile River. It now provides control to tail water for the new High Dam.

The Old Dam includes a navigation lock that allows shipping and river boats to pass upstream as far as Aswan. When we passed through the locks, we all went to the front of the boat. It was enthralling.

SW is watching the captain navigate the lock.

Of course, there was a good discussion about the process.

Our captain. 

SW piloted our ship for a short time. He often says he has never been on a boat that he has not piloted.

SW as Captain. 

Hubby D and SW discussing the controls.

For a short while, these small boats came along side our ship and tried to sell us trinkets and scarves. 

Late in the afternoon, after a short walk through the village of Esna, we toured the Greco-Roman Temple of Khnum and marveled at its soaring columns.

We walked right through the main market to get to the temple.

We also passed a building for Tourist Police.  the Egyptians were very concerned with the safety of the tourist. 

The Temple of Khnum today sits in a 9m-deep pit, which represents 15 centuries of desert sand and debris, accumulated since it was abandoned during the Roman period.

The carvings inside this temple were very impressive especially knowing that they have been buried for centuries.

This is a carving of Rameses III killing his enemies.

Notice the crowns of the Upper and Lower Egypt in this carving.

Looking out the door of the temple, you can see the wall of dirt that was left when they excavated the temple. 

SW and Hubby D are getting ready to climb out of the pit where the temple is located but stopped for more analysis.

The pit is located in the center of town right next to the main road. We are standing on the edge.

Along the Nile we saw many different things. Mostly it was farm land with long rows of banana trees. Sometimes we would see a fisherman or a traditional felucca boat carrying workers.

Possibly originating in Greece, the felucca boat is a traditional boat used along the Nile River. It is also found in the waters of the Red Sea and eastern Mediterranean and Sudan, including Malta and Tunisia, and also in Iraq.

This felucca boat is carrying workers and reeds.

The Nile was the highway of Ancient Egypt. Boats were used to carry everything. The earliest boats using oars were made from bundles of papyrus reeds. The Egyptians believed the Sun traveled across the sky in a boat made of papyrus reeds.

This is a fisherman in front of a grove of banana trees.

I found this photo from 1897 of traditional felucca sailing on the Nile River.

Boats were a theme in much of the hieroglyphs.

Later that evening, there was much discussion on the top deck of our ship. 

The evening ended with a slow progression up the Nile towards Aswan. We had a another lovely meal with much discussion of todays experiences. We all agreed, Egypt was truly amazing.

Tomorrow we visit Edfu Temple and sail to Kombucha Ombo. 

Cheers,

Brenda