Karnak Temple

Al Karnak, village, eastern Egypt, on the Nile River. Al Karnak occupies the northern half of the site of ancient Thebes. The southern half is occupied by the village of Luxor. The fame of Al Karnak rests upon the ruins of a group of temples built here when Thebes was a center of the Egyptian religion, beginning about the 11th Dynasty in 2134 bc.

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The temples, with their walled enclosures of rude brick and connecting avenues of sphinxes, extend over nearly 3 sq km (1 sq mi). Two small enclosures surround temples built in honor of the god Mentu and the goddess Mut by Amenhotep III. The greatest and most important temple, that of the god Amon, was begun by Sesostris I and was completed by Ramses II, although additions continued to be made until the 1st century bc.

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The Temple of Amon stands in an enclosure measuring about 140 sq m (about 1500 sq ft). Its most outstanding feature is a hypostyle hall, the roof of which rests on 122 columns that are more than 21 m (more than 70 ft) high and built in nine rows. Reliefs and inscriptions cover the walls, and obelisks, statues, and pylon gates are found throughout the enclosure. Systematic restoration of the temple was started in the late 19th century.

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The complex is a vast open-air museum and the largest ancient religious site in the world. It is probably the second most visited historical site in Egypt, second only to the Giza Pyramids near Cairo. It consists of four main parts (precincts), of which only the largest, the Precinct of Amun-Re, is open to the general public. The term Karnak is often understood as being the Precinct of Amun-Re only, as this is the only part most visitors normally see. The three other parts, the Precinct of Montu, the Precinct of Mut and the dismantled Temple of Amenhotep IV, are closed to the public. There also are a few smaller temples and sanctuaries located outside the enclosing walls of the four main parts, as well as several avenues of human and ram-headed sphinxes connecting the Precinct of Mut, the Precinct of Amon-Re, and Luxor Temple.

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