Karnak Temple

A vast temple complex expanded over two millennia, famed for its Great Hypostyle Hall of 134 columns.

Construction began under Senusret I (reigned 1971 to 1926 BCE) in the Middle Kingdom and continued into the Ptolemaic Kingdom, which ended in 30 BCE. Most of the buildings that survive date from the New Kingdom. About thirty pharaohs added to the site, which gave it a size, complexity and variety found nowhere else.

What the name means

The ancient Egyptians called the area Ipet-isut, meaning The Most Select of Places. The modern name Karnak comes from the nearby village of el-Karnak, 2.5 kilometres north of Luxor, whose name means fortified village. The complex also contains the Karnak Open Air Museum.

The Great Hypostyle Hall

The Great Hypostyle Hall in the Precinct of Amun-Re covers 5,000 square metres and holds 134 massive columns in 16 rows. Of these, 122 are about 10 metres tall and 12 are about 21 metres tall and over 3 metres wide. The stone beams on top are thought to weigh 70 tons each. Experts think they were raised along ramps of sand, mud, brick or stone. A shrine of the sun god was built so that light would shine on it at the winter solstice.

Parts of the complex

Karnak has four main parts, but only the largest, the Precinct of Amun-Re, is currently open to the public. The Precinct of Mut, the Precinct of Montu and the dismantled temple of Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) are closed. Later cultures also reused the buildings, and there is evidence of Coptic churches inside. In 2009 the University of California, Los Angeles launched a website with virtual reality reconstructions of Karnak.

On the globe

The model shows the temple complex with its tall gateways and the forest of columns.