Temple Of Amun Luxor

Temple Of Amun Luxor

Amun, the Egyptian God of air, breath and life rose to spectacular popularity during 1200-1400 BC. Worshiped commonly as the divine father of the Universe and upholder of the virtuous, Amun has a number of temples dedicated to him.

A temple dedicated to the deity Amun was originally built as part of the Kanrak Temple Complex located 3 kilometers to the north of Luxor City. This 247 acre temple complex is the largest of its kind in the whole world. During the traditional festival commemorating the marriage of Amun to Mut, the Festival Of Opet, the idol of Amun is carried from Kanark to Luxor attended by much fanfare. The construction of the temple of Amun, Luxor is attributed to two pharaohs, Amenhotep III and Ramesses II. These monarchs are believed to have reigned from 1390-1352 BC and 1279 - 1213 BC respectively. At the entrance of the temple a tall imposing tower, a pylon believed to have been constructed by Ramesses II and two statues of the king himself have been built. These stand silent sentinels to the worshippers who entered the precincts. Two obelisks were also constructed at the entrance to the temple of Amun of which only one remains as the other was removed and replanted at the Place de la Concorde in Paris in 1819.

As we venture further into the temple of Amun, Luxor we come across the Court of Ramesses II. The peristyle colonnade encloses the court on all 4 directions. An intrusion to this colonnade occurs to the north made by the imposing Mosque of Abu'l Haggag. Grand statues of Emperor Ramesses II stand in between the pillars. Further still lies the court of Amenhotep II. The colonnade here is made up of 14 columns. The entrance of this court is guarded by two magnificent sculptures marked Rameases II. The sphinxes of the temple have heads shaped to the likeliness of Emperor NectaneboI and are believed to have been crafted in the 4th century BC.

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