Al Karnak

For deciding which cultural themes will shape your trip, the broader travel region of Luxor Governorate offers a varied setting: temple architecture, processional history, and tombs are among the topics associated with the area. This lets you connect your choice of destination with the historical interests that matter to you.

Karnak: Temples and building history

Within the broader travel destination of Luxor Governorate, Karnak is located on the east bank of ancient Thebes, present-day Luxor, in Upper Egypt. Karnak and Luxor, on the east bank of the Nile, are part of the serial World Heritage property “Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis,” added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979. The Karnak temple complex comprises the precincts of Amun, Mut, and Montu, as well as the Temple of Akhenaten for the god Aten. The Great Hypostyle Hall in the Temple of Amun has 134 columns.

The Temple of Khonsu in the southwestern corner of the Karnak complex merits special attention. It is about 73 meters long and 29 meters wide. Construction began under King Ramesses III on the ruins of an older temple from the 18th Dynasty. In the square first court, rows of round columns with capitals shaped like closed papyrus buds stand on three sides. The hypostyle hall has eight columns arranged in two rows. In the sanctuary of the Sacred Barque, four columns support the structure; at its center is the base for the sacred barque of Amun from the time of Ramesses III.

The religious context is also important for understanding the temple: Khonsu was part of the Theban triad, alongside Amun-Ra and Mut, and held a revered place in Egyptian belief. The architecture of the Temple of Khonsu can thus be understood in the wider religious context of Karnak.

Avenue of Sphinxes and annual spectacle

The Avenue of Sphinxes, about 2,700 meters long, connects the Karnak temples in the north with Luxor Temple in the south. Sphinxes line the ancient road. Ancient Egyptian kings built the avenue between the 18th and 30th Dynasties as a processional route for religious ceremonies and festivals. The connection between the two temples and the avenue’s historical function give it a different focus from Karnak’s hypostyle halls and sanctuaries.

The solar alignment spectacle takes place at Karnak Temple every year on December 21; the accompanying program may vary. For international visitors, tickets to Karnak Temple include admission to the temple and the open-air museum at Karnak. Check this ticket information again before your trip.

West Bank: Tombs and mortuary temples

In Luxor Governorate, the Valley of the Kings lies on the west bank of the Nile. It is divided into an East Valley and a West Valley and contains more than 60 tombs, as well as another 20 unfinished tombs that are little more than pits. The tomb of Tutankhamun, from the 18th Dynasty and dated to around 1336 to 1327 BC, is the only royal tomb in the valley to have been discovered relatively intact. The landscape of tombs offers a different cultural focus from the temple precincts on the east bank.

Other sites in the broader travel region include the Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari, which consists of three artificially constructed terraces. The site of Deir el-Bahari was sacred to the goddess Hathor; its geological formation also features a naturally pyramid-shaped peak. The Ramesseum, in turn, is a mortuary temple of King Ramesses II built from sandstone. Its walls depict the Battle of Kadesh. The temple also includes a statue of Ramesses II that is more than 17 meters tall and weighs about 1,000 tonnes.

For the broader travel overview: Luxor Governorate.