hieroglyph + karnak

!hieroglyph×!karnak×

hieroglyph + karnak
A view of the base.
hieroglyph + karnak
If you look at some of the huge beams that sit on top of the columns you can still see some of the original paint that used to be on top of all of the hieroglyphs carved into the stone!
hieroglyph + karnak
Check out the carved walls and how light came into the rooms via grated-vents high on the walls.
hieroglyph + karnak
Check out how the sunlight catches the dust-filled air! It made for a very serious Raiders of the Lost Ark vibe.
hieroglyph + karnak
While most of the site is "open-air," a few of the smaller, enclosed temple's roofs have survived and you can go inside them and get a sense of what the other rooms felt like when they also had roofs.
hieroglyph + karnak
The place is also totally littered with different pieces of carved stone in various states of restoration.
egypt: part three
March 21, 2008
hieroglyph + karnak
Like all the other ancient ruins in Egypt, not only is the size of everything mind-boggling, but the amount of detail-work is CRAZY. Pretty much every single surface of stone is covered in hand-chiseled hieroglyphics. Even wilder is that all of the building material is sandstone that was transported to the temple site from OVER 100 MILES AWAY.
egypt: part three
March 21, 2008