Second Day at Luxor - East Bank

11th December 2009 (Fri)

And our travels continue down the River Nile~ :)

Morning call at 7am and breakfast at the cruise restaurant.

The itinery for the rest of the day are hand drawn by our Singapore tour guide as below!

*Habibi* stands for my beloved in Arabic!
Our Egyptian tour guide calls us that for the whole trip! loll

So from the itinery, we would only be sightseeing 2 attractions - Temple of Luxor and Karnak Temple! The rest of the day would just be slacking on the ship and sailing down the Nile~

My dad woke up much earlier to jog on the ship deck and capture the sunrise (while i continue sleeping :p) *pretty pretty*

 

By the time i woke up the sun has already risen, but i am still managed to capture this sight from our room's balcony! *love the reflections!*

At the same time, he also managed to take photos of the hot air balloons that were an optional tour we did not choose to go. Should be quite a sight to ride the hot air balloon and watch the sunrise with River Nile in the background. But ride up a hot air balloon shall be left to my adventures in other parts of the world :D

Breakfast in the boat's resturant! Scrambled eggs with croissant for breakfast!

And then it was time to do some sightseeing! While we were asleep, the cruise has already reached the nearest dock of our next attraction, and we just have to board a coach for a short bus ride to Karnak Temple!

The visitor centre showing us the huge complex of Karnak Temple.

 

"Karnak Temple is a vast temple complex in Luxor dedicated primarily to Amun and dating from as early as 2000 BC.

The temple complex of Karnak, dedicated to the Pharoah Amun, was the center of his worship and of his wife Mut and their son Khons. Each of them had a "precinct" (area) in the temple complex, the greatest and largest belonging to Amun. There was also a precinct for Montu, the falcon-headed local god.

Construction on the Karnak temple complex began in the 16th century BC and continued into the Greco-Roman period - a period of up to 1300 years of construction. Around 30 successive pharoahs added their own touches to the complex: a new temple, shrine, or pylon and carved detailed hieroglyphic inscriptions.

When the pharoah Akhenaton abandoned the traditional worship of Amun and took up the worship of Aten, the sun god, he built a temple to Aten at Karnak. But after his death, the Theban priests destroyed all signs of sun worship at Karnak and elsewhere."

Satellite image of the whole Karnak Temple:

"The Karnak temple complex is huge, covering a site almost a mile by two miles in area. There are over 25 temples and chapels in the complex, including separate shrines for the three boats that took the statues of the gods on their annual trip on the flooding Nile. Sanctuaries, obelisks, and groups of columns all feature accounts of the heroic deeds of the sponsoring pharoah.

The key difference between Karnak and most of the other temples and sites in Egypt is the length of time over which it was developed and used. Approximately 30 pharaohs contributed to the buildings, enabling it to reach a size, complexity and diversity not seen elsewhere. Few of the individual features of Karnak are unique, but the sheer size and number of features makes it one of the most impressive temple complexes in Egypt."

However only the Temple of Amun is opened to the public..

As we exit the visitor centre, the first pylon of the temple of Amun-Re at Karnak came into sight!
(and this pylon is actually unfinished!)

And as we walk closer to the plyon, we were passing through rows and rows of ram headed sphinxes. This is the Avenue of the Sphinxes, or Sacred Way, that once stretched the two miles from Karnak to Luxor Temple.

Passing through the first plyon, we enter into the forecourt which contains a triple shrine dedicated to the Thebean triad of Amun, Mut and Khonsu.

There were also many unfinished columns in the forecourt..

as well as a granite colossus of Ramesis II, with his favourite wife Nefertari nestled between his feet, just next to the second pylon.

Then it was time to see the highlight of Karnak Temple beyond the second plyon..

The Great Hypostyle Hall!

 "Started by Seti I and finished by his son Ramesis II, this hall contains 134 gigantic columns, the biggest being 23m tall and 15m in diameter. Ten adults standing with their hands stretched apart around the pillars can barely measure up to their circumfrence. The hall covers an area of 6000 sqm."

Truly impressive!

Some background info of the place that i snapped from the information panels:

More views of the hall whilst standing among all the pillars...

the Egyptians had even provided for ventilation in their structure.. see the ventilation panel at the top of the pillars?

And as per all other historicla structures in Egypt, there were intricate carvings on the surfaces!

There's something inside this curving.. see if u can spot it.. ahaha :p

And then we exited the Hall and came to the Sacred Lake within the complex, dug by Tuthmosis III.

"It is the largest of its kind and is lined with stone and provided with stairways descending into the water. It measures some 120 meters (393 feet) by 77 meters (252 feet). It is believe that most temple precincts included a sacred lake. Water from the lake, filled with groundwater, was used by the priests for ritual ablutions and other temple needs, and was also home to the sacred geese of Amun. However, it was symbolically important in the ancient Egyptian's concept of creation, representing the primeval waters from which life arose."

And at the corner of the lake, there is a huge granite statue of a scarab dedicated by Amenhotep III.

(the picture on the right)

The local guides mentioned that if one walks around the scarab seven times, he or she will never again have love problems. (is it true?) So lots of tourists were walking round and round and round... it..

"The front face of the cylindrical pedestal on which the scarab rests has been flattened to form a stela, and is carved entirely in sunk relief. On it, the kneeling king makes an offering of two nu vessels to Atum of Heliopolis. The solar disk set between the two extended wings that crown the text forms part of the name of Nebmaatre that is inscribed in the vertical axis of this stela. The text carved on the side of the stela explicitly states that it concerns "Khepri who rises from the earth."

From the scarab, we could see 2 obelisks erected by Tuthmosis II (the smaller obelisk) and his daughter Hatshepsut.

"The obelisk erected by Queen Hatshepsut (1473 -1458 BC) is 97 feet tall and weighs approximately 320 tons (some sources say 700 tons). An inscription at its base indicates that the work of cutting the monolith out of the quarry required seven months of labor. Nearby stands a smaller obelisk erected by Tuthmosis I (1504 - 1492 BC). It is 75 feet high, has sides 6 feet wide at its base, and weighs between 143 and 160 tons. Hatshepsut raised four obelisks at Karnak, only one of which still stands. The Egyptian obelisks were always carved from single pieces of stone, usually pink granite from the distant quarries at Aswan, but exactly how they were transported hundreds of miles and then erected without block and tackle remains a mystery. Of the hundreds of obelisks that once stood in Egypt, only nine now stand; ten more lay broken, victims of conquerors, or of the religious fanaticism of competing cults. The rest are buried or have been carried away to foreign lands where they stand in the central parks and museum concourses of New York, Paris, Rome, Istanbul and other cities.

The use of the obelisks is even more of a mystery than their carving and means of erection. While the obelisks are usually covered with inscriptions, these offer no clue to their function, but are instead commemorative notations indicating when and by whom the obelisk was carved."

Including the above 2 obelisk, there were initally nine obelisks at the Temple of Karnak. However only the above 2 is still standing, and one of those that has fallen is located next to the Sacred Lake.

From here it was free and easy time and we could roam around the huge complex! So without any guide and not knowing what we were seeing, it was just photo-taking time!
But before that, one very pretty photo i found online of Karnak Temple.

Back at the forecourt where we were asked to assemble..
And then it is time to move on to our next destination! Luxor Temple!

"The temple of Luxor is close to the Nile and parallel with the riverbank. King Amenhotep III who reigned 1390-53 BC built this beautiful temple and dedicated it to Amon-Re, king of the gods, his consort Mut, and their son Khons.

This temple has been in almost continuos use as a place of worship right up to the present day. It was completed by Tutankhamun and Horemheb and added to by Ramses II. Towards the rear is a granite shrine dedicated to Alexander the Great.

During the Christian era the temple's hypostyle hall was converted into a Christian church, and the remains of another Coptic church can be seen to the west.

Then for thousands of years, the temple was buried beneath the streets and houses of the town of Luxor. Eventually the Mosque of Abu el Hagag was built over it. This mosque was preserved when the temple was uncovered and forms an integral part of the site today."

Some history of the worship that was done at Luxor Temple:

"The Temple of Luxor was the center of the most important one, the festival of Opet. Built largely by Amenhotep III and Ramesses II, it appears that the temple's purpose was for a suitable setting for the rituals of the festival. The festival itself was to reconcile the human aspect of the ruler with the divine office. During the 18th Dynasty the festival lasted eleven Days, but had grown to twenty-seven Days by the reign of Ramesses III in the 20th Dynasty. At that time the festival included the distribution of over 11,000 loaves of bread, 85 cakes and 385 jars of beer. The procession of images of the current royal family began at Karnak and ended at the Temple of Luxor. By the late 18th Dynasty the journey was being made by barge, on the Nile River. Each god or goddess was carried in a separate barge that was towed by smaller boats. Large crowds consisting of soldiers, dancers, musicians and high ranking officials accompanied the barge by walking along the banks of the river. During the festival the people were allowed to ask favors of the statues of the kings or to the images of the gods that were on the barges. Once at the temple, the king and his priests entered the back chambers. There, the king and his ka (the divine essence of each king, created at his birth) were merged, the king being transformed into a divine being. The crowd outside, anxiously awaiting the transformed king, would cheer wildly at his re-emergence. This solidified the ritual and made the king a god. The festival was the backbone of the pharaoh's government. In this way could a usurper or one not of the same bloodline become ruler over Egypt."

The temple proper begins with the 24-metre high First Pylon, built by Ramesses II. The pylon was decorated with scenes of Ramesses's military triumphs (particularly the Battle of Qadesh); later pharaohs, particularly those of the Nubian and Ethiopian dynasties, also recorded their victories there.

This main entrance to the temple complex was originally flanked by six colossal statues of Ramesses – four seated, and two standing – but only two seated statues and one standing statue have survived. Also surviving is a 25-metre tall pink granite obelisk. It was one of a matching pair until 1835, when the other one was taken to Paris where it now stands in the centre of the Place de la Concorde.

Through the pylon gateway leads into a peristyle courtyard, also built by Ramesses II. This area and the pylon were built at an oblique angle to the rest of the temple, presumably to accommodate the three pre-existing barque shrines of Amun, Mut and Khonsu located in the northwest corner that belonged to the  earlier structure of Hatshepsut (bottom left picture). Rameses’ great court features a colonnade around each of its sides interspaced with colossal statues, many of which the king usurped from Amenhotep III.

 

The three pre-existing barque shrines of Amun, Mut and Khonsu. 

Sitting Ramesses II Colossus inside Luxor Temple:

 

Atop the columns of this courtyard that the Mosque of Abu el Hagag was built: on the eastern side, a doorway leads out into thin air some 8 meters above the ground which is an indication of the 19th century ground level before the excavation of Luxor Temple.

 

The processional colonnade, after the peristyle courtyard, built by Amenhotep III – a 100-metre corridor lined by 14 papyrus-capital columns. Friezes on the wall describe the stages in the Opet Festival, from sacrifices at Karnak at the top left, through Ammon's arrival at Luxor at the end of that wall, and concluding with his return on the opposite side. The decorations were put in place by Tutankhamun: the boy pharaoh is depicted, but his names have been replaced with those of Horemheb.

 

 

Colossal statues lining the sides as one walk through the processional colonnade.

Beyond the colonnade is another peristyle courtyard, which also dates back to Amenhotep's original construction. The best preserved columns are on the eastern side, where some traces of original colour can be seen. The southern side of this courtyard is made up of a 32-column hypostyle court that leads into the inner sanctums of the temple.

Looking at the  processional colonnade and the pylon from the peristyle courtyard.

The inner sanctums begin with a dark antechamber. Of particular interest here are the Roman stuccoes than can still be seen atop the Egyptian carvings below (bottom 2 pictures); in Roman times this area served as a chapel, where local Christians were offered a final opportunity to renounce their faith and embrace the pagan state religion.

Further in stands a Barque Shrine for use by Amun, built by Alexander, with the final area being the private quarters of the gods and the Birth Shrine of Amenhotep III. The latter features detailed wall paintings depicting the pharoah's claim to have been fathered by Amun, and therefore of divine descent.

That's basically Luxor Temple. Confusing history, and after reading so much, i am not even sure if i got all the names right! (Disclaimer!)

Some structure outside of Luxor Temple:

And remember the Avenue of the Sphinxes in front of the first pylon of the Karnak Temple? The Sphinxes were suppose to join up with these Sphinxes located here at Luxor Temple!

"In the early days of the two complexes, they were connected by a canal that was later paved over and lined with sphinxes to make the 'Avenue of Sphinxes'. Pilgrims, who earlier had progressed by boat, then had to go afoot." 

In March 2012, the Avenue of Sphinxes will be 'reintroduced' by the government after 5 years of reconstruction. But due to this reconstruction, tons of homes and buildings had to make way for this project. Guess that's the impact of tourism.

With that we headed back to our cruise for lunch and to continue our journey down the River Nile.

Only 2 sites today!

Last look at Luxor Temple from the bus.

 

What was served on board the cruise for lunch - Egyptian food (though i dont think it is authentic)

 

Headed back to our rooms after lunch, and my parents and i ended up watching movie, napping, playing sudoku, reading...

until it was tea time at 4pm ontop the cruise deck

View from the cruise deck as we are sipping our tea

We ended up taking a lazing around in our room but at around 6 plus we were suddenly awaken by this sound at our balcony. It was ppl shouting their wares from another small boat!! As the cruise is not very huge (4 storeys), these ppl could have just jump into our balcony and enter our rooms. Super frightening, and if they spotted anyone looking out, they will target their sales at you.

Snap shot below of exactly the same thing happening to another cruise ship. Can you see the small boats?

Eventually these ppl went away and we headed up to the 'pub' area for the cocktail party. Really a very small party with finger food and drinks.

Then its american style food for dinner!

After dinner i decided to head up to the deck to star glaze, but so happen we were at Esna Lock which is used to raised or lower the ships travelling along River Nile to the appropriate river level.

With that, the day came to an end. Another exciting day in Egypt awaits!

And then it was more slacking time until the cocktail party at 7pm and dinner at 7.30pm.