The Hypostyle hall in the Karnak temple in Luxor, covers an area of more than 55,000 sq ft. andis filled with 134 gigantic sandstone columns arranged in 16 rows, with an average diameter of nearly 10 feet!
12 in the central aisle with open papyrus capitals, once supported a raised 82 feet ceiling and are now around 70 feet high. The rest (61 on either side) have closed papyrus bud capitals and were meant to support two sloping 50 feet high roofs and stand 34 feet tall.
Now consider the timeline – built by Seti I and his son Ramesses II between 1294 – 1213 BC!! Mind boggling? You bet. The Pyramids are older still, by some 1400 years!
MORE EGYPT STORIES & TRAVEL GUIDES
EGYPT TRAVEL GUIDE – ALL YOU NEED TO PLAN A PERFECT TRIP
EGYPT ITINERARY – AN EPIC TEN DAY JOURNEY
PYRAMIDS OF EGYPT – GIZA, SAQQARA & DAHSHUR
KHUFU’S SHIP – THE SOLAR BOAT MUSEUM
INTO THE HEART OF HISTORIC CAIRO
THE TWIN TEMPLES OF ABU SIMBEL
NUBiAN LANDSCAPES – THINGS TO DO IN ASWAN
ABYDOS AND THE RAISING OF THR DJED
STAR GAZING IN DENDERA
Solid and spectacular. Amazing pillars that makes me say, “wow!”
Thank you island traveler!
Wow, Beautiful
DJ-
I think I can fathom how difficult it would have been to capture these images, the way you had. Kudos! Those columns — telling a hundred stories have always fascinated me. Your story of a story is well told, Madhu.
Thank you Silentfingers 🙂
Wonderful photos, Madhu – capturing their massive dimensions, and the gorgeous bas relief carving. Real solid, girl – a perfect interpretation! I’m so glad to see them – all my Egypt slides turned purple and although I’ve adjusted them so I can recognise what I was trying to capture – they’re unusable. Brava!
What a pity that your Egypt slides are unusable! I have lost some of my Spain and Greece photos, although i have managed to salvage a few from some prints. Delighted that you liked my interpretation of solid 🙂
Yep- those are definitely SOLID 🙂
Yeah, couldn’t think of anything more solid 🙂 Thanks Anne.