Karnak Temple Luxor

Karnak was the most important religious site of ancient Egypt, dedicated mainly to the god Amun, and successive pharaohs added to it for some two thousand years. The result is one of the largest temple complexes ever built, a maze of pylons, courtyards, obelisks and sanctuaries.

You enter between rows of ram-headed sphinxes, then pass into the Great Hypostyle Hall, where 134 massive columns, many still carved with hieroglyphs and traces of paint, rise like a stone forest. Look out for the obelisk of Queen Hatshepsut and the sacred lake.

Visit early in the morning or late in the afternoon, when the light is warm and the heat bearable. Luxor Temple, linked to Karnak by the restored Avenue of Sphinxes, is at its most beautiful after dark.