Karnak Temple Great Court


Second Pylon entrance intro the hypostyle hall. in the fore ground is the remaining column of the Kiosk of Tahraqa
Second Pylon entrance intro the hypostyle hall. in the fore ground is the remaining column of the Kiosk of Tahraqa

The Kiosk of Tahraqa

Taharqa was the fourth king of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty and also king of his native Kush; located in Northern Sudan. The remains of this huge kiosk, built by 25th Dynasty pharaoh Taharqa (690-664 B.C.) originally consisted of ten twenty-one meter high papyrus columns linked by a low screening wall. Today there is only one great column still standing. It is believed that it was a barque chapel (or Station) although some Egyptologists think it may have been used in ritual activities to join with the sun

Statue of Ramesses II

Statue of Ramesses II
Statue of Ramesses II

The statue was usurped by Ramesses VI (1143-1136 BC) and later by Pinedjem a High Priest (1070- 1032).

The king wears the nemes headdress with the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt and his arms are crossed, holding crook and flail; symbols of kingship. At his feet, Princess Bent’anta holds a flower and wears an Uraeus crown of rearing cobras. Her name Bent’anta (Bintanath, Bint-Anath, Bintanat) is Syrian, meaning Daughter of Anath, referring to the Canaanite goddess Anath. Her mother was Isetnofret, one of Ramesses’s most important wives.

The Second Pylon

pic08Before the later Shoshenq court is the second pylon. It was built by Horemheb (1323-1295 B.C.) who filled the interior of the pylon with thousands of stone blocks from demolished monuments built by the Heretic king, Akhenaten. But it was unfinished and only partly decorated at his death. Ramesses I later completed the decoration and replaced all of Horemheb’s cartouches with his own and it was again usurped by his grandson Ramesses II. Today the second pylon’s outer wall is severely damaged and its original height is unknown.

KarnakTemple1


First pylon
The first pylon was built by the Ethiopian kings (656 BC).


The Great Court
This vast Court holds the Kiosk of Tahraqa and the Second Pylon.


Ramesses III Chapel
First court is lined with Osride statues of Ramesses III


Hypostyle hall
Still the largest room of any religious building in the world


Tuthmosis III Hall
Obelisk of Hatshepsut & Festival Hall of Tuthmosis III


The Sacred Lake
The lake is 129 X 77 meters and was used for ritual navigation.


Thutmose III Pylon
The pylon shows Thutmose smiting his enemies.


Temple of Khonsu
Temple of the moon god Khonsu – son of Amun and Mut.

 

The mystery of Egyptian cult temples explained, illustrated with videos, photos, drawings and 30 highly detailed computer generated reconstructions.

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Karnak Temple Great Court

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