Open doorway inside the Karnak temple leading to more structures beyond

Like some other previous photos, this photo also shows a section inside the Karnak temple in Luxor. The temple was a magnificent structure, constructed around 35 centuries past, with many pharaohs contributing towards the building of the temple (pharaohs would add their own touches to the existing temple). Now, you can see the remains of the temple, with a lot of the vertical structure still remaining, but most of the temple has lost a roof. Items such as this open doorway remain, and can be seen inside the temple in a number of areas.
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Tourists inside the Karnak temple, with the Obelisk to one side

A number of tourists visit the Karnak temple at any point of time; since the Karnak temple is on the tourist circuit of Luxor and Luxor is an important point in anybody going to Egypt. This is true both for internal tourists (Egyptian citizens) and foreign tourists. In this photo, you can see several Egyptian tourists as well as the imposing and sharp profile of the Obelisk at one side of the structures.
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Symbols on the side of one of the Obelisks inside the Karnak temple

The Obelisk is one of the most important symbols from the history of ancient symbol. They were built to denote a closeness to god, and were typically erected at the entrance to temples. Over a period of time, invading powers took away many of these Obelisk and put them inside their cities. So you can find many of these Obelisk in cities such as Rome, Paris, London, etc. In this particular photo, you can see Hieroglyphs on the side of a Obelisk inside the Karnak temple.
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Photo of a statue which is part of a wall inside the Karnak temple in Luxor

A lot of the statues that are placed in temples that were made in ancient Egypt were representations of the pharaohs (created mostly by the pharaoh who was creating / modifying the temple). In this photo, you are able to see a scene inside the Karnak temple located in Luxor. Part of the statue seems damaged, and the statue also seems attached to the stone wall behind it.
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The angular profile of the Obelisk inside the Karnak temple

The Obelisk is one of the most famous symbols of ancient Egypt (along with other symbols such as the Pyramids, etc). Obelisks were typically erected by pharaohs at the entrance to the temples, but over a period of time, many of the obelisks were taken away and are now present in cities over the world (and are part of the tourist attraction of these cities). This photo shows the angular profile of an Obelisk and shows how smooth the Obelisk would have been when it was created (since it seems very smooth in sections right now).
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Open doorway inside the Karnak temple in Luxor

A photo of a doorway inside the Karnak temple in Luxor. Most of the roofs of the temple are no longer present, so the whole structure looks a bit strange. The structure of a door is always strong in terms of architecture, so it was not surprising that the structure of the door would remain even when other areas get damaged over a period of time. I was also observing that most tourists were getting bored in such areas since there was nothing interesting to see.
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Some of the more damaged structures inside the Karnak temple in Luxor

In many of the previous photos, you would have seen some great examples of items inside the Karnak temple that are wonderfully preserved even though there have been 35 centuries since the temple was made. Many of the structures that are seen as preserved have been actually restored. However, this photo shows a section of the temple where the structure has seen the wear and tear of the centuries gone past, and where the wall has broken. You can still see some of the carvings on the walls, but the overall impression is that of strong wear and tear.
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Long path inside the Karnak temple at Luxor, different from the Hypostyle Hall

One of the most famous highlights of the Karnak temple in Luxor is the Hypostyle Hall, which has 134 large pillars forming a hall covering an area of 50,000 square feet. It looks incredible; but there are other sections inside the temple that are worth visiting. This is one of the paths inside the temple, distinct from the Hypostyle Hall. You can just see 2 tourists in the distance, who have just finished transiting the path.
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Block with large amount of carvings inside the Karnak temple in Luxor

One of the great things about ancient Egyptian architecture is the fact that a large number of the monuments from that era (which can be as much as 45 centuries back) retain some amount of the work done. So, there are temples which retain some of the structure, pillars that have a lot of the carvings still there, paintings that retain the form and still appear clear.
In this case, you can see a section of stone with the carvings (deep carvings in the stone) that seem very clear and anybody who can read the language is able to understand the writing clearly.
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View of ruined section of pillars inside the Karnak temple in Luxor

Many of the sections of the Karnak temple are in some state of decay, which is not surprising given that the temple is around 35 centuries old, and hence would have some elements of wear and tear due to weather and other conditions over the years. The pillars inside the Hypostyle Hall are one of the most famous parts of the Karnak temple, and in this photo, you are able to see some of the pillars, with some damage over the years being visible.
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Large section of stone with carvings inside the Karnak temple in Luxor

There is always some amount of repair and restoration work happening at ancient sites; typically such sites require a lot of restoration to overcome the damages over the centuries. Such restoration work can carry on for many many years. In this case, you see a section of maybe a pillar with carvings that has been set aside for further use.
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Tourists walking through the intial section of the Karnak temple in Luxor

As you enter the Karnak temple, there are some initial pathways, almost like sections between large pieces of stone. In this photo, you can see tourists walking through the sections of stone while entering the Konark temple. They are entering, armed with cameras and curious about what all they would find. When I entered the temple, I was not sure about what all I would find (not having done any initial study of what all I would find).
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People walking towards and through the Karnak temple in Luxor

The Karnak temple looks interesting from this distance, where you can see a huge amount of the front part of the structure. Some of the structure is broken, some is fine, and overall, the whole place looks beautiful in a certain kind of way, especially when you consider that this temple was built in another age, over 35 centuries back.
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Trees at one side of the walls (made of stone bricks) at the Karnak temple

The trees you will find most often in the desert area of Egypt are palm or date trees. In this photo, you can see a couple of trees on one side of the walls of the Karnak temple. Further, you can see the block of stone, that make up the stone walls of the temple. They no longer seem to be in perfect alignment with each other, with some of them jutting out and others being inside.
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Pillars, and other structures, inside the Karnak temple

A view inside the Karnak temple, where you can see the remains of the structures built over 35 centuries back. There are remains of some pillars, there are walls made of stone blocks, some trees, and gates, etc. There is a scaffolding also there, erected for the restoration of some parts of the temple structure. The Karnak temple is a great example of the architecture of the temples of ancient Egypt.
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Row of Sphinx statues at the entrance to the Karnak temple

The Sphinx is an integral part of ancient civilizations, especially an important of the ancient Egyptian culture. This photo shows a row of Sphinx statues at the entrance to the Karnak temple (and there is another such row on the other side as well). These are larger than life statues, and were in a fairly good condition, which was surprising, considering that they have been in place for around 35 centuries.
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Side section inside the Karnak temple in Luxor with some small pillars

A smaller section inside the Karnak temple in Luxor; this is more of a run down section of the temple, with the stone seemingly having crumbled to some extent. Now of course, the whole temple would have been stabilized to ensure that there is no further decay or crumbling down of the stone. This looks like any other place, with nothing to highlight it in particular or to make it important for tourists.
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Local and foreign tourists inside the magnificent Karnak temple in Luxor

Luxor and the Karnak temple is a very important destination on the tourist circuit, and one would assume that there would be a large number of foreign tourists over there (especially in the month of February when this photo was taken - it would not be too hot then); however, it seems to be very popular with the Egyptian public also, since you can see what looks like a number of young Egyptians in the region.
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Section of carved stone sitting on wooden support, part of restoration effort

The Karnak temple in Luxor is pretty old, although not so by ancient Egyptian standards (the Pyramids and the Great Sphinx is much older, with a lot of mysteries about these ancient structures). The Karnak temple is around 35 centuries old, and has seen some wear and tear over the long periods since it was built. Here, you can see part of the restoration, with a section of carved stone resting on wooden support sections.
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Close up view of the Obelisk at the Karnak temple in Luxor

The Obelisk is one of the most important and well know symbols of ancient Egypt, with some of them also having been taken from Egypt and now displayed with pride in cities such as London, Paris, Rome and Washington. This is a view of an Obelisk that was installed at the Karnak temple in Luxor, and has been allowed to remain there. It looks pretty impressive, although you can make out wear and tear in the lower section of the Obelisk (but the carvings can be seen).
The Obelisk is made in honor of the sun god Ra.
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Construction Crane just behind the Karnak temple complex

Like many other historic sites in Egypt, Karnak too has a lot of modern civilization surrounding it. If you consider Giza (where the pyramids and the Sphinx are very close to urban civilization), then you get an idea of what I am talking about. In this photo, the construction crane is so close to the Karnak temple that you would think that it is actually inside the complex.
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View through the pillars of the Hypostyle Hall in the Karnak temple

This is a view through the narrow corridor between the pillars of the Hypostyle Hall inside the Karnak temple in Luxor. Since there are 134 pillars inside the Hypostyle Hall, the space between the pillars is not all that much, and when you see yourself next to these huge pillars, you think about who could have put up these massive pillars 35 centuries back. And then consider how carvings that were made so many millenia back are still easily visible.
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A view of the obelisk at the Karnak temple in Luxor

The ancient Egyptian pharaohs used to erect obelisks at locations such as at the entrance to temples (and later, invaders carried away many of these obelisks and these are now located at many capitals of the world). This is an obelisk that was placed at the entrance to the Karnak temple by the female pharaoh Hatshepsut (one of the obelisks that she tried to get was cracked and hence left at its quarry site in Aswan, now known to tourists as the 'Unfinished Obelisk'). The lower section of the obelisk is all corroded, the carvings worn away over time.
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Article near the Karnak temple depicting the restoration work

The Karnak temple in Luxor is 35 centuries old, and has suffered a lot of wear and tear over the ages. As a result, when the effort of restoration was taken up some decades back, the was a lot of work that was needed to be done (there are a couple of photos that I have posted earlier that shows the condition of the temple when it was finally enmarked for repair and restoration). This is a photo of an exhibit at the temple that displays some of the plans for the restoration (in this specific case, that of the courtyard of the 3rd pylon.
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Tourists at the base of the pillars of the Hypostyle Hall in the Karnak temple in Luxor

A group of tourists at the base of some of the pillars of the Hypostyle Hall in the Karnak temple in Luxor. Seeing a photo such as this shows the sheer size of the pillars, and it is even more magnificent that this structure was built more than 35 centuries back. The Karnak temple is a very visited tourist spot, very popular with tourists.
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Gap between the pillars and some section of ruin at the end in the Hypostyle Hall

In this photo, you can see the rows in which the pillars are aligned next to each other. In the end of the section, you can see a tree, and some stones on the ground. Further, you can see light and shadows on some of the pillars inside the Hypostyle Hall in the Karnak temple; you need to see the Hall and its pillars in order to fully admire the view and the magnificence.
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Shadow and light falling on the pillars and the space between them

The pillars inside the Hypostyle Hall in the Karnak temple in Luxor contains 134 pillars (thicker in the middle, thinner at the bottom and top, and with a thick circular bottom); some of these pillars can be pretty close to each other, which means that there can be an interesting interplay of light and shadow during the daytime.
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View of tourists walking through the Karnak temple in Luxor

A view of tourists walking through the Karnak temple in Luxor. Here in the photo, you can see a number of circular pillars in the background, rising high in the sky. The pathway is not very wide, just enough for a few people walking side by side. It looks massive and magnificent though, especially if you consider that the place was built around 35 centuries back.
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