Karnak Temple & Valley of the Kings

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Our final stop was Luxor, which is where the ancient capital of Thebes was situated. Our first site to visit was Karnak Temple, which has been one of my absolute highlights of my time here in Egypt. Karnak Temple is the largest in Egypt, with the entire complex spanning some twenty-three acres. I had heard that this was an impressive place to visit and I had seen many pictures of it, but nothing could have ever prepared me for this incredible temple. The Great Hall was designed by the same architect who designed the stupendous temple for Ramses II at Abu Simbel and I can now say with assurance that he was a genius. We had a guide for this temple who is currently completing his masters in Egyptology, shedding new light on the ancient buildings and the people alive in the time of Ramses II. The insights he passed on as we wandered through the Great Hall woke up my tired mind to such a degree that I actually felt as if my brain was buzzing as a result of all that I was learning. I haven't had this experience for a long time and I actually found it difficult to get to sleep after this visit, as my mind was still very active as it tried to process and maintain all of the revelations that it had to absorb in such a short time.

Where do I begin? I had read that even the greatest artists and writers have failed to convey the scale and wonderment that is experienced at Karnak Temple, but I thought that this was rather over the top. How wrong I was! I left this place feeling humbled, awestruck and bewildered. Firstly, I learnt how the Ancient Egyptians created these enormous structures (and they are enormous in every sense of the word). They created a scaffolding technique by using sloping mud brick piles that enabled them to move the gigantic stones over wooden rollers and position them accordingly. This can be known because the final part of this temple was never entirely completed and part of the scaffolding structure remained. I also saw that the softer stone used for construction was not cut into their smooth shape in the quarry, but was transported first and put into place, whether it be a pillar or a wall, and then cut into their smooth shapes and decorated. The harder stone, however, was cut into shape in the quarry to lighten the load during transportation. The Great Hall consisted of a central corridor that had a floor made from silver, with gold adorning the pillars. High above this corridor were windows that allowed the sunlight to shine and reflect off this silver and gold interior, making the floor glisten like the Nile, surrounded by the golden desert sands. The entire ceiling was painted in bright colours, some of which still remain almost entirely in tact, which allowed me to picture the splendour of this hall in its complete state. There were a number of revelations pointed out to us that our guide has discovered in his studies; however, I don't want to document them as his thesis has not yet been published, but I will be keen to read it when he puts it online.

Karnak Temple also has the largest standing obelisk anywhere in the world. It was made during the time of Queen Hatshepsut and is amazingly carved out of a single piece of granite. It was once entirely covered in gold, as is documented on its base. A fallen obelisk gave us the opportunity to see the holes where the gold plating was attached. I asked our guide how they managed to erect these enormous obelisks, which prompted him to show us a diagram that answered my question very clearly. They used the scaffolding technique which I described earlier and then gradually lowered the obelisk into a pit filled with desert sand, which was slowly released from an opening at the bottom of the pit, thus allowing the obelisk to slowly slide into place upon its granite base. Simple!

The following day we rode donkeys from the west bank of the Nile out to the Valley of the Kings, which was an absolute blast. The donkeys were cute but funny animals and we all had a laugh as we raced towards our destination on these animals. Mine would occasionally take a pitstop to tear out some tall grass beside the road, which nearly caused a mass pile up as other donkeys crashed into mine. One girl actually fell off her donkey as we were hurtling along the road. Her donkey went down on its front legs and she went sailing over its head, but fortunately she only had a few minor cuts and abrasions. Eventually we arrived at the Valley of the Kings and we feasted our eyes upon the marvellous colours upon the walls of these tombs. Due to their protected location inside the earth, many of the tombs have maintained the colours upon the walls depicting the transportation of the pharaoh from this world to the afterlife. I wonder if modern paint would stand the test of time over a few thousand years like that used by the ancient Egyptians? After visiting these tombs we then went to see the impressive temple of Queen Hatshepsut which is dramatically carved out of the rock on a mountainside. Its design is unlike any other ancient building we had seen in Egypt and it blends in masterfully with the surrounding landscape.

For my final night in Luxor, I decided to go for one of my aimless wanders through the city. At one point during my two hour stroll I stumbled upon a street party which was being set up in one of the residential districts. One of the friendly locals started to talk to me and invited me to eat dinner with him. Unfortunately I couldn't, as we were taking the night train to Cairo, but I was once again touched by the open and friendly manner of the Egyptian people, which is something that will stay with me long after I leave the country.

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