Somehow Johnny Carson KNEW We Were Going To The Temple of Karnak!

Balloon, breakfast, and then Karnak Temple – it was a busy morning.  The coolest part of Karnak are all the Ram headed Sphinx.  Some would say the coolest part of Karnak are all the columns.  No, the coolest part of Karnak Temple are the obelisks, including the ability to get three obelisks in one picture.  No, the coolest part of Karnak Temple is the sheer size overall.

Okay, it’s not the coolest part, but it’s pretty cool that a temple built approximately 4000years ago was as the name of a long running Johnny Carson skit.

Editor: Oh, I get it, the Karnak mention/Johnny Carson skit is a required reference in the Blogger’s Rule book akin to the King Tut/Steve Martin lyrics situation.  Writer: Nope.  Not at all.  Why would you assume such a crazy thing?

So, the city of Luxor is lucky enough to have both the Temple of Luxor AND the Temple of Karnak, with the aforementioned Avenue of the Sphinx connecting the two.  On the Karnak side, the sphinxes have Rams heads (well, those that are not headless do).  The pylon of the main entrance was not finished, but it is still in a fine state.

There are multiple temples within the temple grounds, incluing the largest, the Great Temple of Amon-Re.  There are also temples to Montu, Osiris, Ma’at, Ramesses III, Khons, Tuthmosis II, and probably others I’m missing.

There are also three obelisks, two of which are imposing and one of which is, um, not.  There are also any number of wonderful columns.  I could write columns and columns about columns, but you wouldn’t read it.  

Editor: You don’t have enough material or knowledge to write multiple columns about columns.  Writer: I know that, you know that, but the readers don’t know that.  Editor: I don’t think you understand what you just did.

There’s also a huge statue of Ramesses II and a much smaller statue of one of his queens or princesses.  The carvings in the hypostyle hall include battle scenes, including starring King Seti I.  The bookies in Vegas had favored the Egyptians in that battle, so it wasn’t an upSeti that they won it. 

Editor: “UpSeti?”  That’s gotta be the worst play on words of this entire trip blog.  Writer: Hold my beer, I can top that (I hope).

There is a giant granite scarab beetle set upon a high pedestal.  It represents Khepri, and sun god in the earliest phase as the young sun of dawn.  Legend has it that you will have good luck if you circle the beetle pedestal seven times, which makes for quite a sight.  Hope this doesn’t shock you, but Carol and I did not circle the beetle once, much less seven times.  

However standing next to the beetle afforded us with the rare opportunity to take a selfie with not one, not two, but three obelisks in the same shot.  

Two people, three obelisks.

Luxor has it all – two huge temples on the East bank, Luxor and Karnak.  On the West bank of the Nile, there is the Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Hatshepsut, and the Valley of the Queens.