our Luxor hostel (Qasis hotel) the room was great with our very own private bathroom. Price: 50EGP / night for 2 person....i know! it's cheap and clean, a good bargain indeed
after checking in, the hostel manager suggested us a restaurant nearby for yummy lunch with reasonable price
this chicken stuff rice cost 25EGP
my grill fish for 35EGP
was really yummy
all these appetizers were free :) but only for the 1st time because the 2nd time we went back
we were hopping to see the luxury appetizers again but sadly only free bread but nonetheless it's a restaurant i would recommend going
since we have the whole afternoon free after lunch, we then decided to cover the east bank of Luxor.
There were 2 choices either with the white and blue taxi or the white and blue minivan.
As we love to blend in with the local so we took the minivan to Karnak temple which only cost 1EGP / pax
the distance from our hostel was just about 15-20 minutes drive away
we have arrived the world's largest temple, Karnak Temple!!!
it's large because it contains a group of Temples which were built by different pharaoh such as the Great Temple of Amon Ra, The Temple of Khonso, The lpt Temple, The Temple of Ptah, the Temple of Montho and the Temple of the God Osiris ....... yup alot!! :)
the front entrance of Karnak Temple. Price: 35EGP/ student and 70EGP for normal ticket
as we enter there was a ram headed avenue of Sphinxes, which was built to protect the Temple. If i am not mistaken there are about 20 rams on each side
ram headed Sphinxes
WOW
the open court. A completely different feel from the pyramid we saw in Cairo.
see that huge column in the middle right? that is known as the kiosk of Taharqa who ruled during the 25th Dynasty. This bud papyrus column is the only column left from a colonnade that once had 10 columns.
on the left side of this Court (as u can see little Boon) there are 3 chapels, which were built by King Seti II for the "Triad of Thebes". On the other side if the Temple of Ramses III
Boon @ Karnak Temple
going in to the #1 highlight of Karnak Temple the Hypostyle hall.
Started by Seti 1 and finished by his son Ramesis II
infos @v@
love the details
look up and down...simply amazing
the column is freaking HUGE
the highest of this giants is 23m tall and 15m in diameter
there are exactly 134 gigantic papyrus bud columns
side view
one of the 2 obelisk still remain standing
....this place is like a huge labyrinth
this area was the main entrance of the Court of Tuthmosis I during his reign. He erected 2 obelisks but only 1 still standing
Boon cho siao
the Botanical room.
I think this is the wall that were decorated with scenes of plants, animals and birds, which were brought from Syria to Egypt by the king
but i only see birds carving @v@
we came across a collection of statues of Ramses II and Tuthmosis III
panorama view
not sure this is unfinished or destroyed
deep inside the temple there is a sacred lake
just in front of the sacred lake, there is a scarab a.k.a Khebry, which they said to be the biggest scarab left from Ancient Egypt. It's freaking huge alright.
many people circled Mr Kheby and make wishes. we did the same too. Didn't know how many rounds that we supposed to do, i think i did 10 rounds. Well more round more wishes.....kekekeke
the never ending restoration...really salute the archaeologist putting all this pieces together to one big giant puzzle
Panorama view at the back area
some narrow pathway leading to the Hypostyle hall
we stopped by the Temple of Ramesses III on the way out to the front entrance(which is also the exit)
it was designed as a miniature of Medinate Habu (@ west bank, Luxor) on the open air court, there are 2 rows of The Osiride statues of Ramsses III. Though most of the head are gone, but it's still impeccably impressive
there are 3 rooms which is gorgeous but a little spooky as there are no other tourist when we were there :S
BOO~!
one last look before we headed to Luxor temple
panorama view of the front entrance
tip: best time for photos is during sunset ;)
like many of Egypt's famous ancient spot, Karnak Temple also have Sound and Light Show
which cost around 75EGP
We then took cab for 10EGP to Luxor Temple which was only 5 minutes away and the cab driver didn't even drove us to the front entrance.....$%$&* saying it's out of the way
Luxor Temple. Price: 25EGP / student and 50EGP for adult.
The Luxor Temple is way smaller that Karnak Temple but it one of the beautiful temple in Egypt that one must not miss it
just in front of the temple King Nektanebo built the Sphinx Avenue
Amenhotep III, son of Habu built Luxor Temple, the architect and oversee of the works of construction of the temple.
There were originally 6 standing statues in front to the Pylon, but only one on the right is still in place
this 2 seated colossi representing King Ramsse I, seated on his throne
in front of the Great Pylon of Ramsses
but only one of them remains standing. The other was transported, in 1819, to La Place de le Concorge in Paris as a gift to King Philip Louis of France by Mohamed Ali, after he was given a French clock, which they said has never worked properly even to this day ....kekeke
there is also a mosque(Mosque of Abou El-Hagag) inside, that the Muslims built in the 10th century
just beside the mosque is the place for worship made by Queen Hatshepsut and Tuthmosis III, dedicated to the sacred boats of the " Triad of Thebes"
then open court of Ramsses II leads to the Colonnade, which was built by Amenhotep III, and decorated by Tutankhamen and later, Horemheb, Seti I, Ramsses II, and Seti II all recorded their names there
the colonnade leads to the Court of Amenhotep III
love the details, that is Mr Ramsses II
round papyrus bud columns on three sides
Boon @ Luxor Temple
another place which you really need to come during sunset
when the temple lit up and the skies are blue...fantastic
there also stands a Roman alter, bearing Latin inscriptions dedicated to Emperor Augustus.
close up...can still see the ancient carving beneath it
here which originally had 8 columns, but they removed when the antechamber was converted into Christian Church
not sure what room is this
i think when the temple lit up the carving on the wall standout more
i wonder what that A stands for??
Boon admiring the details on the wall
with all those food they have
no wonder they have tummy, boy..~ those pharaohs really need to work on their abs
the side of the temple
there are also a open air museum
too much to see
who's big foot is that?
love this picture...got some mysterious feel to it
i know I'm good
side view of the colossus of Ramesses II
nice tits ...muhahaha
night view of the place of worship of Queen Hatshepsut
detail on the top of the entrance
the temple is open until 9pm
it's really awesome to see the temple change from day light to evening
totally different atmosphere
the Sphinx avenue @ night
they said that hundreds of sphinxes once lived the road to nearby Karnak temple
can you imagine that?
after a long day visit, we walked back to our hostel which was only 5 minutes away and ta pao some chips and chillex :)
i was so happy that Luxor is much more quiet, relax and the people are way more friendly than in Cairo
finally i could sleep properly for the 1st time in the past few day in Egypt
Hallelujaaaa!
night night!!
~ Tesbahey ala khear~
