More from our trip to Egypt, focusing on the Karnak Temple Complex. This historical site contains temples spanning from the Middle Kingdom to the Ptolemaic Era.
As I’m starting to go through the many photos from our trip to Egypt, I will write a series of blog posts to delve a bit deeper into each area. Today, I’m starting with the Karnak Temple Complex, also known as Karnak.
A couple of things to note both about Karnak, in general. The Karnak complex sees temples from many time periods extending from the Middle Kingdom (c. 2000-1700 BCE) to the Ptolemaic Era (305 – 30 BCE). The area of the complex was named Ipet-isut in ancient Egyptian, meaning ‘The Most Select of Places’. The modern name Karnak comes from the nearby village of el-Karnak, which means ‘fortified village’.
Let’s start with the entrance toward the 1st Pylon…
Entrance towards 1st Pylon
In this approach, we look at the 1st pylon, large trapezoidal walls that form the entrance toward the courtyard. This pylon is 113m wide and 15m thick at its base. The entrance way is lined with a procession of ram-headed sphinx statues, representing Amun-Re, whose temple one enters. Construction of this pylon was started in the 30th dynasty and never completed.
As we enter the courtyard, let’s take a closer look at the rightmost of the 1st pylon trapezoids…
Karnak – 1st Pylon
There are still ancient mud bricks piled up against the inside of the pylon, which would have been used as ramps during the construction phase.
As we enter the courtyard, we get a sense of the scale ahead of us…
Kiosk of Taharqa
Here we’re looking at the Kiosk of the pharaoh Taharqa, one of the Kushite rulers of Egypt. The columns of this kiosk were 21m tall, and the one remaining column on the right gives us a sense of that size.
Also in this courtyard we find a colossal statue of Ramses II…
Colossus of Ramses II
Ramses II is one of the best known pharaohs due to the length of his reign and his volume of construction. In this statue we see Ramses II wearing the nemesis headdress with the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. At his feet is the Princess Bent’anta, holding a flower and wearing a Uraeus crown of rearing cobras. The princess’ name, Bet’anta, is Syrian, meaning Daughter of Anath (Anath is a Canaanite goddess).
In the next episode, we’ll go into the great hypostyle hall.
A Fresh Perspective
Photography is more than just a vehicle for capturing the world around me; it provides me with a palette and a set of brushes, with which I paint not only what I see, but also look to express the emotions that are evoked by the scene in front of me in that moment.
Growing up in the Netherlands exposed me to a wide cross-section of visual arts that laid the foundation of my photographic view of all that surrounds me. Early influences were the Dutch Masters of the 17th century, to whom I was introduced by my grandfather during museum explorations; favorites among them are the scenes of quotidian life depicted by Jan Steen and Frans Hals and the vivid landscapes of Jacob van Ruisdael.
My classical high school education was supplemented by the Boijmans Van Beuningen museum, where I spent many a lunch hour exploring its great collection. Here I was introduced to surrealism with a particular love for the approach taken by Salvador Dali; Dali also rekindled my appreciation for the work of Hieronymus Bosch, who often showed the folly of us mortals.
Universal Connections
My approach to any photographic subject is to look for understanding first; in this I look to establish either a connection between the viewer and the subject or capture the connection of the subject with its surroundings. The captured image then aims to portray this connection from a perspective that is part of my personal interpretation.
This interpretation is often a form of externalized introspection, which may alternately display the connection of isolated beings and items with their environment or highlight the whimsy of the profound world, in which we find ourselves. The universe is full of connections, many of which are waiting to be discovered; part of my journey as a photographer is to document these connections.
Any assignment, be it an event, a product shoot or a portrait session is always approached through communication with the client; this is where the first connection is established. Ideas are exchanged and a collaborative plan of action forms, ultimately resulting in a set of images that aim to exceed the expectations of each client.
And, lest we forget, it is important to have fun while practicing the serious business of photography!
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8 thoughts on “Karnak Temple Complex – Part 1”
Beautiful photographs, I loved them. This voyage should be so exciting and so interesting. Thank you, Love, nia
Great to hear! There is so much to share about this location. We only got to spend a couple of hours there, and I could have spent multiple days exploring many more of the temples in the complex.
Beautiful photographs, I loved them. This voyage should be so exciting and so interesting. Thank you, Love, nia
Thank you so much! It was a wonderful journey that makes me want to go back to Egypt.
Remarkable! Can’t wait to see the rest. You brought me back there for a moment
Great to hear! There is so much to share about this location. We only got to spend a couple of hours there, and I could have spent multiple days exploring many more of the temples in the complex.
It is indeed a big complex, and a few hours is not enough to explore it in detail.
I feel that I could spend a week there.