Adventures on the Nile: Seeking Immortality
The pharaoh was not simply the king of Egypt - he or she was a god incarnate, mediating between the heavens and the Earth. When the kings of the New Kingdom abandoned the pyramids and moved their tombs to the secluded Valley of the Kings, they needed another way to be worshipped and remembered by the masses. The pharaohs therefore put an exorbitant amount of effort and funds into the creation of great monuments to the gods and themselves. Each pharaoh took immense care in making his or her mark on temples like Karnak. The first temple was built at the site around 2000 BC and over the next two thousand years, with each pharaoh adding something to the complex, it grew into one of the most extensive places of worship in the world. In size, Karnak is second only to Angkor Wat in Cambodia. My favorite part of the temple is the Hypostyle Hall, a gigantic room filled with 134 columns, 69 feet high, each elaborately carved and painted to depict the various kings who added ...