Luxor Temple

Departing the Karnak Temple, I then head to the Temple of Luxor. These two temples are interlinked with a 3km path known as the Avenue of the Sphinxes, and was the path the God took to join the Goddess, he living in the Karnak Temple, she in the Luxor Temple. The Avenue of the Sphinxes by itself is quite spectacular, with rows of statures lining either side. Sphinxes with the head of a ram predominantly, but a sight to stand and behold, again envisioning the hundreds of hours of work that created these icons of Egypt, and again have stood the test of time.

Archaeologists discovered the road lined with sphinxes adjacent to the temples and homes about three years ago, businesses, churches and even a police station have now been removed or are in the process of being removed to allow for complete excavation and restoration – I stood mouth agape staring at this magnificence, wondering that the desert had chosen to simply cover them over – but inadvertently might have preserved them, perhaps more than a century or two ago – perhaps the local people were also unaware that their work and their history and their legacy would reach right into a future they could never have even imagined.

Back to the splendour of the Luxor Temple, smaller in size than Karnak but no less captivating to both the eye and the imagination. At the entrance is a giant stature of Tutenkarmun and his wife, the size and features of the statue betraying the fact that these were children of a very young age. The stories of Egypt come alive when Habibi tells them, and today was no different, listening to his explanations of why the Queen is always portrayed smaller then the King, why her fingers look inordinately long, and to why Egyptologists only have an array of theories on some of the mysteries of the past.

The Luxor Temple bears evidence of destruction not only of a human kind but also of the damage the elements have caused over a few millennia. Prior to the building of the High Dam in Aswan a little over a half a century ago, the Nile routinely flooded each year. These floods were the lifeline of ancient Egyptians, as it irrigated the soil and allowed them to plant crops and grow food that would be harvested and stored for use throughout the winter. However, these floods also filled the buildings, including the temples, to a height of several metres. There is a crude marking on the wall that says flood level (year) – which is at a height of at least 3m.

In time, sand also filled the open spaces of the Temples and at Luxor, there is a Mosque which whilst appearing to be on top of the Temple today, was once built at ground level, the original entrance being high in the air, evidence of where the 'ground' once was. Visitors to Egypt can only marvel in the splendour of the history and culture and the majesty of the Temples, I don't think we could ever truly comprehend the vision, labour and love that was poured into this beauty that the world continues to appreciate, thousands of years later.