Karnak Open-air Museum — Attraction in Old Karnak

Came here at 8.15am. Tour buses not here yet. Queue at the ticket counter where only 1 was opened has only 4 persons on the line.

The rate has gone up again to 450EGP for adult and can only be paid with a credit card.

Karnak Temple is the star highlight of Luxor. Very impressive open air museum where it is still an active archaeological site. A must visit site. I didn't get a guide as I have done my own reading of the history. Can be quite confusing with all the pharaohs and gods.

Must spend time wandering around to those sights on sides. Not just sticking to the main walkway. There are some "opportunist" at there corners "guiding" you for a tip. Best to ignore them.

Should even walk all the way to Alley of Sphinx and exit through another way. This alley looked like it's still under construction with very few Sphinx though it once had thousands all the way to Luxor Temple.

Though both temples are connected via this Avenue of Sphinx, you have to buy separate tickets...

Karnak

To the north of the Temple of Amun in Karnak is the open-air museum that displays antiquities discovered in the temple. With the increasing importance of Karnak through the ages, many kings added parts to the temple, and with the passage of time, other kings dismantled some of those monuments and reused them, and these effects were discovered during excavations inside the temple or during the restoration of some of its buildings.

Among the relics on display was the sacred cabin of Queen Hatshepsut, known as the red cabin, which was designed to preserve statues of deities during ceremonies. The white cabin of Senusret I, decorated with hieroglyphic inscriptions carved with great care, highlights the skill and power of craftsmen during the...

The great national monument of Egypt has no equal, where almost all pharaohs, particularly of the new Kingdom wished to record their names and deeds for posterity . Thought most of the structure were built , there were numerous shrines within the complex dedicated to what might be called gust deities like path of Memphis and Osiris of abydos. As successive pharaohs replanned entrance pylons , erected colonnades and constructed temples, they often reused va uauable blocks from...