Karnak Temple
Change Hotels from West to East Bank
On Friday November 7th I decided it was a mistake to have stayed at the West Bank. Not that it was bad. But I felt isolated and the 4:45am prayer was annoying – see video. Photos and video of my West Bank hotel:
Accordingly, I hired a driver “Moe” for the day to first transfer me to the Pyramisa Hotel on the East Bank of the Nile before dropping me at Karnak.
Karnak Temple
He showed me “Avenue of Sphinxes,” built around 380 B.C., a 1.7-mile road between Karnak Temple and Luxor Temple (first clip in video below). Then he dropped me off at Karnak Temple where I spent over two hours. (Click image for large view.)
Karnak Temple is massive, built over 1,500 years by many pharaohs. The most amazing is the Great Hypostyle Hall, a forest of 134 colossal columns, some 80 feet tall, with intricate carvings. There are towering obelisks, a ceremonial Avenue of Sphinxes connecting it to Luxor Temple, and the ritual Sacred Lake. It was the ancient Egyptian religious epicenter, used for festivals and ceremonies.
Felucca (sailboat) on The Nile
Finally, my driver/guide arranged to go out in a sailboat “felucca” at sunset on the Nile River. I caught the profile of a cell tower in front of the sun.
