Our first stop was the Temple of Karnak. Built around 1350BC, it is dedicated to Amen, the Egyptian Sun god. We would quickly learn that Egyptians had gods for everything and trying to keep track of them would prove to be very confusing.
Karnak is the largest ancient religious site in the world and accordingly is the second most visited site in Egypt after the Pyramids in Giza. The complex consists of four main parts, but only the section dedicated to Amen-Re (the sun god) is open to the public.
What makes Karnak unique is that it was used my multiple Pharaohs. Most rulers wanted to have their buildings and structures for themselves only, but Karnak was used by over 30 dynasties, starting in the Middle Kingdom and stretching to the end of Ancient Egypt. Every Pharaoh during this time added something to the temple grounds.
The most famous part of Karnak temple is the Hypostyle Hall, which is 50,000 square meters and is comprised of over 134 massive stone columns.
Our next stop was Luxor Temple, a few km south of Karnak. This temple was also built to honor Amen-Re, as well as his wife Mut and Chons, the moon god. The entrance is the home of one of the Egpytian obelisks (we learned that most obelisks have been "given" away to other countries).
The obelisks are made of red granite which had to be quarried in Aswan, and then floated up the river to Luxor during the yearly flood.
One of the unique features of Luxor Temple is that it is the only site that also houses both a Mosque and a Church. Early Christians built a church at the back of the temple and then Muslims built a mosque on top of ruins (which is still in use today).
Luxor Temple also has a statue of King Tut and his wife, one of the more famous statues at the site. It was too dark at this point to get a photo, but the illuminated pillars did come out ok.
We wrapped up our day with a couple of Stella beers on the boat before making our way to dinner.
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