Introduction
in ancient Egypt, Luxor, the central cult, was dedicated to the god amon, whose name meant the hidden, for this god was built three temples; Karnak temple, Luxor temple, and the temple of madinet habu.
According to several archeologists and Egyptologists, the main version of the god Amon existed in the Luxor temple. Karnak Temple and Luxor temple was the annual festival during the Nile flood in ancient Egypt.
The temple is connected to Karnak temple through sphinx avenue, was constructed by king nectanebo the second; around 2700 meters long, containing more than 1350 sphinxes which are different in shape since various artists made these sphinxes from all over Egypt.
The temple was called ipyt ryst, which Auguste Marriette mistakenly translated as the southern harem for women. Still, the exact translation of the temple’s title is the southern harem.
The temple was built nearly 400 years, the first king who started to build this temple was king Amenhotep the third, and later on, there were buildings in this temple erected by king Thutmose the third and queen Hatshepsut. Then, king Ramses, the second, constructed the first pylon, which exists till now.
The temple was discovered by archeologist Auguste Mariette around 1858. The temple was completely different than now, full of sand and mudbrick from the river Nile since the temple lies nearby the river. In addition, inhabitants built lots of houses inside the open court and next to the first pylon, so his mission was not to discover but rather to excavate and rescue the temple and reveal its value to all world.
Sphinx avenue
It is the longest sphinx avenue in all of Egypt and might be in the whole world; 14 meters wide, 2700 meters long, and 1350 sphinxes, it was used to connect Luxor temple to Karnak temple during the central feast in ancient Egypt in Luxor “Opet” the inhabitants and priests moved from Karnak temple in the procession of god amon to renew his life and get rebirth annually in Luxor temple.
First pylon
It is well known that most temples in Egypt were constructed from inside to outside, so the newest part of each temple is the first pylon, which represents the horizon and the sun which appears through this shape. This pylon was constructed by king Ramses the second. It’s 24 meters high and 68 meters long; on its walls, there are four niches for flags from ancient Egypt, plus documentation about the Kadesh battle, which occurred in the fifth year of Ramses, the second reign in the 11th century B.C.
Before the pylon, there were six statues related to king Ramses, the second in different positions.
Also, before this pylon, there were two obelisks, one of them now in the palace in de la Concorde in France, the second obelisk still now in Luxor. It is from one piece of rose granite in Aswan 220 km to the south of Luxor.
Open court
The open court in Luxor temple contains three compartments for the local triade in Luxor (Amon, Mut, Chonsu); inside these compartments were the three barks for these gods in ancient Egypt during the annual visit to Luxor temple.
On the other side of this open court is a big mosque called Abu-elhaggag. In the 13 century, someone called Abu elhaggag traveled to Egypt in this century from Syria and settled in this area of Luxor, where he built his mosque; after his death, he was buried inside, which is now one of the main mausoleums in all of Egypt, and there is an annual festival in Luxor in this most with rituals so similar to ancient rituals during the festival of god amon.
Hall of 14 columns
After the open court, there are the halls of 14 columns; however, I think it is not the hall but a corridor of 14 columns. These columns were built in 2 rows. Each one had seven rows.
Behind these columns on the walls were scenes about the opet feast, which occurred in ancient times during the Nile flood. The feast started from Karnak temple, moving the barks of god amon and his traide to Luxor temple and then waiting till the moon will be complete since it was the sign to start the festival through 14 days till the moon will be dark, so that is why there are here 14 columns representing the days of amon festival in Luxor, on the right side we can see the transfer of barks from Karnak temple to Luxor temple, while on the left side we can see the barks going back from Luxor Temple to Karnak temple.
Hall of columns
The hall of columns consists of 64 columns, divided into four corners; unfortunately, the northern part of these columns is highly damaged. Under this hall, there was a great discovery in 1986; lots of statuses were buried under this hall.
Sanctuary
After the hall of columns, there is a vestibule before the sanctuary called a church mistakenly!
The colorful scenes that covered the original scenes in this place were not dedicated to apostles but to Roman emperors, a new cult during the second century A.D.
And from this vestibule, the archeologists graved a small hall that leads to the holy of holies inside this temple.
In this place, there are stunning colorful scenes that still exist now and reflect the beauty of this temple in ancient times.
One of the most exciting scenes between the vestibule and the sanctuary is the scene of king Ramses the second making BBQ for God Amon.
Inside the sanctuary or holy of holies, it was not allowed for anyone to enter this place except the king and high priest.
It is also vital to mention that Alexander the Great was never in Luxor. Still, his name was engraved inside the sanctuary of this temple after he visited Amon temple in siwa.
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