Karnak Temple
Karnak Picture Resource (36 Photos)	The avenue of sphinxes More Pictures This temple was the spiritual and cultural centre of the Egypt of the Pharaohs, dedicated to Amun-Ra, the King of the Gods. Really a complex of temples, built over 1500 years, Karnak is overwhelming in it's size and beauty. It has a total circumference of over 2.5 miles (4 km)! The pictures here only give an impression of the immensity of the site - you have to see it "in the flesh" to really experience it. Most of the photos in the resource pages were taken when we visited the temple at 6am in the morning, just after the site opened, and there was nobody else there, so they are quite unusual in that there are no other tourists blocking the view. I'd definitely recommend the early rise if you go! The highlights here include the largest surviving obelisk in Egypt, two temples for the Theban trinity of Gods, and the amazing Great Hypostyle Hall, with 134 columns! Because of the sheer size of the site, careful planning is needed if you want to go on a solo visit. Maps of the site are readily available and invaluable. A guided tour is probably also essential - if we had stayed on for a second week in Luxor, we would have wanted to go back to Karnak ourselves and spent a whole day, or even more, wandering round it. The "Son et Lumiere" presentation in the evening is also a high priority, with narration by Sir Richard Burton, no less!
	Map of the Nile | Luxor | Edfu | Aswan | Kom Ombo | West Bank | Philae | Abu Simbel | Lake Nasser