Our last day in Luxor, and nowhere better to finish than Karnak, the massive temple complex to Amun Ra, his consort Mut and their son Khonsu. Built over a period of close to 2000 years, Karnak is the largest temple complex in the world.
Our day’s adventure began with a boat ride from our hotel to the riverbank by Karnak. This so much nicer than crossing and then getting a taxi or minibus. A quick scramble up the bank bought us out opposite the plaza in front of the imposing First pylon. Sadly, that entrance is now closed and one is obliged to walk around to the south side and in through security, the shops and eventually the visitor centre.
As our Luxor Passes had expired (5 day) I had to queue for tickets. I shall investigate the online options for all these next year. We then found our guide for the morning and set off for a 2000-year journey through time. As successive rulers expanded the temple outwards, the further in you go, the further back you go. We began with the short sphinx lined entrance, through the First pylon into the Great Court. Instead of going straight, we headed right into the Temple of Rameses III. I had never noticed just how much Rameses III we do on this tour.
Moving back to the main axis we entered the Hypostyle Hall, an astonishing forest of stone pillars with much evidence of original colour showing after the cleaning of the last few years. Although the name of Rameses II is everywhere, it should be remembered that it was Seti I who did the main construction. We continued through the hordes of tourist groups past the two remaining obelisks of Tuthmose I and Hatshepsut to the Holy of Holies, replaced by the Macedonian king, Phillip Arrhidaios.
Time for some refreshments, so we made our way past the Amenhotep III scarab to the café by the Sacred Lake.
Our next destination was the Open-Air Museum, but via the eastern end of the temple, passing the Chapel of the Listening Ear where commoners not allowed into the main temple area could leave their supplications. We paused for a while in the Botanical Garden of Tuthmose III before heading into the Akh-Menu. From here we crossed the area that once was the Middle Kingdom part of the temple, then along the outer Northern Wall of the Hypostyle Hall with the Seti I battle reliefs.
The Open-Air Museum is looking good, and a lot of work has been done to tidy the area up. This is by no means finished but looks promising. This another of those rich places that gets few visitors, despite it having some amazing things to see. Our guide kept everyone entertained with his good, humoured approach and his wealth of knowledge as he led us through the Hypostyle Hall in a southerly direction to the Temple of Khonsu – more Rameses III. Unfortunately, only part of this beautifully decorated temple was open.
It was time for our guide to leave and so we made our way out through the Khonsu gate. Our next point of interest was the Precinct of Mut which was a first for me. The walk was long, and it was now very hot, so we abandoned our idea of walking along the Avenue of the Sphinxes and phoned our river taxi who met us at the riverbank.
We returned to our hotel to officially check out, settle what was owing and for some, grab a nap. Tonight we were heading back to Cairo to face a new challenge. During the day our booked hotel had texted saying they had room issues and needed to move us to their “sister” hotel. Problem was they didn’t have enough rooms for all of us. Welcome in Egypt! Some vigorous texting provided a compromise of sorts, so we shall see what happens when we get to Cairo. Time now for a last Luxor supper before we left for the airport.
