The Ancients - Karnak: Egypt's Greatest Temple

Episode Date: September 22, 2022

Located on the banks of the River Nile in Luxor, Egypt, the Karnak Temple complex is one of the largest buildings ever constructed for religious purposes. Dedicated to the god Amun-Ra and covering over 200 acres - the Karnak Temple complex is bigger than some ancient cities.Earlier this year, Tristan visited the Temple complex, and spoke to the Director of Karnak Temples, El-Tayeb Gharieb Mahmoud. In this special, on location episode, Tristan and Tayeb give us a tour of one of the most colossal sites left from the ancient world. Journeying around the complex, looking at the reliefs, architecture, and reflecting on the Pharaohs responsible for it's construction - what can we learn from this 4,000 year old building?For more Ancients content, subscribe to our Ancients newsletter here. If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!

Hi, I'm Tristan Hughes, and if you would like the Ancient ad-free, get early access and bonus episodes, sign up to History Hit. With a History Hit subscription, you can also watch hundreds of hours of original documentaries, including my recent documentary all about Petra and the Nabataeans, and enjoy a new release every week. Sign up now by visiting historyhit.com slash subscribe. It's the ancients on History Hit. I'm Tristan Hughes, your host, and in today's podcast we've got a special treat for you today because a few months back I was fortunate enough to head over to Egypt to film a series of documentaries for History Hit and one of them was all about the greatest or one of the greatest definitely the biggest temple complex of the ancient world. This is the temple complex of Karnak, which boasts some 4,000, yes, you heard

that right, 4,000 years of history, stretching from the Middle Kingdom, the Middle Egyptian Kingdom, to Champollion, to Jean-Francois Champollion, the deciphering of hieroglyphs. And in this special podcast episode, it's taken from our recent documentary released on history hit all about karnak i chatted to el tayyab gahya mamud tayyab who is the director of karnak temples this man knows everything that there is to know about karnak temples he knows where each hieroglyph is what each hieroglyph means He is a walking encyclopedia for all things Karnak. And we were lucky enough, fortunate enough to have some of his time when we visited Karnak a few months ago. And in this podcast episode, it's a mix of me sitting down with Tayeb in the great hyper-style hall of Seti I, and also a bit of a walk around too, looking at some other features such as the White Chapel of Senesret I.

That's all to come in this very special On Location in Egypt Ancients podcast. The first time we're doing an Ancients podcast outside of the UK. It's another symbol of how we're always growing, always wanting to get bigger and better on the Ancients. But without further ado, that's enough rambling on from me. Here's Tayeb to talk all about Karnak. Tayeb, first of all, thank you so much for coming on the podcast today. Thank you so much. You're welcome. I am so envious of your job and where you work here at Karnak because it's such an incredible site. I mean, we're talking from inside the Hyperstyle Hall, one of the most iconic monuments here.

I'd like to ask you a few questions about this site, about Karnak now, if I may. I mean, first of all, Karnak in ancient Egypt, what exactly is Karnak? Karnak, it's the biggest and greatest religious temple over the world. When we talk about Karnak, we are talking about more than 247 hectares.

Taib, that's insane, the size. I mean, as you say, this is one of, if not the largest religious sanctuary in the world or in the ancient world in the ancient world exactly in the ancient world so when we talk about karnak we are talking about more than 247 acres acres more than 15 temples built for many gods and goddesses and kings inside this area for example we have the great temple and the main temple of the god Amun-Ra the temple of the king Ramses II the temple of the king Ramses III temple of the god Betah temple of the god Khonsu and Obed

we are talking about more than 15 temples built during different times of the Egyptian civilization as dedication for these gods and goddesses. And of all the gods and goddesses that were worshipped at Karnak, you mentioned Amun there. Does Amun seem to be this main deity which is worshipped at Karnak. Exactly, the main god, not just in Karnak, actually the main deity during the new kingdom and until the end of the Egyptian civilization was the god Amun-Ra, which means that we are talking about more than 2,000 years. And the god Amun-Ra, he was the main god and the main deity in the Egyptian civilization. And was Amun, was he a local god? I mean, do we think he's the cult of Amun, if we can

say that? Did it originate in this area of Egypt, in Upper Egypt, around the ancient city of Thebes? and Upper Egypt around the ancient city of Thebes? Actually, Amun, he was a local god. At the beginning, when he was in Elmenia, in Khimino, and this is the original city of the god Amun. But later, when he came to Luxor, step by step, he became the main god. And at the beginning, he was a local god,

he became the main god and at the beginning he was a local god but later he became one of the first creator for the world even for the cosmos so that he became an international god and type going on from that i mean an international god thousands of years of history we can talk about various sanctuaries around well various temples and shrines and chapels here which dedicated to Amun but it does also beg the question do we know where it all begins the whole sanctuary of Karnak do we know about the origins of this sanctuary yes yes of course of course actually we think that the starting of building in Karnak at least started during the time of the 12th dynasty and the Middle Kingdom.

And still we have the open court, which belongs to that time. But this is at least, because actually we think that the building of Karnak temples started before. For many proofs, for many evidences. One of them that still we have names of the kings from the old kingdom. Like the king Senefro, the king Jedkara Isisi, all of these kings' names still exist on the list of the king Thutmose III in the festival in the temple of Akhmenu.

So, we think that the building of Karnak temples was initiated during the old kingdom of course we didn't find until this moment a real and clear evidence but some evidences prove that but anyway we are talking about more than 2 000 years why because 2000 bc are you more than 2000 exactly exactly why because the first part of the temple the oldest part of the temple started during the time of the king sinusert the first sus3s the first and around 1960 bc and this is the white chubble which we found in blocks as fell inside the third pylon which belongs to the time of the king Amenophis the third he used these blocks and many thousands of blocks as fell inside his gate the third pylon and during our restoration and preservation for this part of the temple, the third gate, we found all of these blocks,

and we started to reconstruct again all of them in an area we called it Obin Air Museum. And still, all of these chapels and shrines exist right there, like the White Chapel, the Alabaster Chapel, the Chapel of the alabaster chapel the chapel of the queen hachib sood the red chapel many chapels actually we found all of these blocks as fell inside the third pylon and until this moment we are trying to reconstruct all of these chapels again in the museum well you mentioned the white chapel there so let's go and have a look. OK, let's go. As Tayeb mentioned, the White Chapel is now situated to the side of Karnak

in the open-air museum. Beautifully and accurately reconstructed, the building is some 4,000 years old. This is the White Chapel. The White Chapel. This is the oldest part of Karnak complex. This is the most ancient part of Karnak temples. Dated to the king, to the time of the king,

Sinusert I. And can you see his name at all on here, Taleb? Yes, this is the name of the king, Sinusert. Ah, yes, the cartouche, yes. This is the old name, this is a hieroglyphic name of the king, Sinusert, around 1960 BC, Wow.

during the 12th dynasty. And actually, there is no part of the temple older than this shrine. So this shrine is basically almost 4,000 years old. Around 4,000 years, exactly. That's incredible. It's in the detail all over the walls of this white chapel, where you can see evidence of the close relationship

pharaohs wished to stress between themselves and the god Amun. And Tayeb is taking me first of all to a particular depiction of Amun all to do with fertility. And this is a depiction that shows Amun with a very erect penis, there's no other way to say it. And standing opposite this depiction, this version of Amun, is a depiction of the pharaoh Senesret I with his royal regalia. And so do we see depictions of Amun on the walls of this shrine? Yes, of course. We can see here the depiction of the god Amun, and we can read his name.

Jed midu en imin kamut ef. Nisut nitiru. So kamut ef. Is this a particular version of Amun? Yes, exactly. And in his name, like this, it was the Ithiphalic Amun, because actually we have two forms of the god Amun. The first one as the king of the sky, as the god of the sky and the sun. On the other side, we have the other name,

Amun-Ra-Kamutef, and in this case, he is the Ithalic Amun, the god of the fertility and the sexual life in ancient times. So fertility, this version of Amun is all to do with fertility. Exactly. Right. And we can see the image of the god Amun. Yes, yes. Reacting like this. يتعلق بالفترة بالضبط ويمكننا أن نرى صورة أمون

تتجاوز بهذه الطريقة أعتقد أن هذا هو سننزرق على الركب وذلك أمون على السفر بالضبط هذه هي تبكتة رسول سينوسر وقد أعطى بريد كعطاء في مقابل أمون أثيوثاليك أمون را أو أمون كاموت أف

ويمكنك أن ترى أنه يدعى بطيئة ومعه بطيئة بطيئة Gad Amun Ra or Amun Kamut F And you can see the headdress that he's wearing, crowns, and with the serpent little headdress there. Do we know what sort of crown this was? Was this the one that just represented a pharaoh? Actually in this form, the king, Sinu Serd, he's wearing the white crown. The white crown. Yes, this is just the white crown,

the crown of Upper Egypt. The crown of Upper Egypt. So was there a different crown if he was king of Lower Egypt? Exactly. We have the red crown and the red crown for Lower Egypt and we can see it right here. Oh, this is the red crown. You can see how different it is. Yes.

Exactly. Right. So Lower Egypt, that's the end closer to the Nile Delta, to Memphis and that area. Exactly, exactly. From Memphis to Alexandria, to the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. This is which we called the Lower Egypt.

Got it. Yeah. And Upper Egypt, where we are at the moment in Karnak and Thebes, ancient Thebes, this was Upper Egypt. Actually, we are in the center, in the heart of Upper Egypt. Ah. And we are in the capital of Upper Egypt at that time, Thebes, Luxor, nowadays. Now, a key role of Karnak was as a home of the said festival.

This was an official renewal ceremony of a pharaoh's power some three decades, 30 years into their reign. And the function of the white chapel of Senna's Wretch I may well be aligned with this said festival. Some Egyptologists think that this shrine for the said festival, أعتقد أن هذا الشرائن هو لفرنسا لفرنسا وكان هذا الفرنسا مهم جداً للكيبسي لتحسين حياته ومحاولته لتحسين قواته لذلك استخدمه لتحضير هذا الفرنساير من الأدوات في مجال الناس لتثبت أنه يمكنه القيام بحكم إيجابية وأن يستطيع القيام بحكمها لأخر 30 سنة so that sometimes he used to control a pool to show his power,

to show his strength for his people, so that maybe this shrine used for this purpose, for this function, where we can see the name of the said festival. Oh, yes, down there. Down here, is it? Exactly, down here. We can see the name of the said festival. Oh yes, down there, so it's down here, is it? Yes, we can see the name of the said festival. Right, after 30 years on the throne, this important festival, the revival of your strength, of your

power, and it was incredibly significant and important for the pharaohs, for their people. Yeah, that's right. So actually, Taya, from what you're saying, so this altar here in the center, does this not date, therefore, to the time of Senna's right? The first is this later was there originally something else in the center exactly. This is the point Some Egyptologists think that this part of the shrine the altar the granite altar added Later to the time of the King Sinister. But originally we had a royal throne here, double royal throne for the two faces, the two entrances, and the king, he acting at that time himself

as the king of Lower Egypt and the king of Upper Egypt during the Sed festival. Senesret's legacy at Karnak is clear thanks to the preserved White Chapel. This often overlooked building, now to the side of the main temple complex, full to the brim with invaluable hieroglyphs and imagery, well, this White Chapel, it emphasises the importance of Karnak and Amun for pharaohs as early as 2000 BC. But 2000 BC, well, this was only the beginning. Karnak's importance increased over the following centuries. And by the time that the Egyptian new kingdom dawned in the mid-second millennium BC BC with the famous 18th dynasty, Karnak was

well on its way to becoming the monumental complex you can still see today. So, Tayyab, you see all of these constructions and by the time you get to the famous 18th dynasty, the likes of Tutankhamun and so many others does it feel like this is a real golden age for Karnak yes of course we can say that for sure the golden age of Karnak Timbils it was during the new kingdom and especially the 18th dynasty why because the great builders of Karnak temples was at that time like the Queen Hatshepsut the King Amenophis the first the King Thutmosis the third he was one of the real builder of Karnak temples especially the heart and the central area and of course the King Rameses the King Siti the first actually the golden age and the golden times

of karnak temples it was during the new kingdom and especially during the 18th dynasty well you mentioned i mean there's so many names there we could pursue but as we are talking from the hyper style hall i feel we need to kick it off with Seti I. I mean Tayeb talk to me a bit about who Seti I was when he was reigning and what's his great contribution to Karnak. Actually the king Seti I he was one of the builders of Karnak Timbles and he started in a very special part of Karnak Timbles, and this is the Haibustail Hall. Because actually the Haibustail Hall, before City I, it was very simple,

just a corridor in the middle, surrounded by columns and two walls. But later, during the time of the king, City, at the beginning of the 19th dynasty, around 1290 BC, he started to add more columns he removed both of the walls on each side and he started to build add more columns and built 122 columns so 134 therefore in total yes the 12 in the middle the larger one this belongs to the time of the king and the 20 the 122 this belongs to the time of the king city and he started the work in the

northern part but he died before he finished his work so that his successor and his son the king the great king rameses he completed the work of his father and finished it, the great king Rameses, he completed the work of his father and finished it in the northern part and he continued in the southern part. One of the most important parts which belongs to the time of the king Siti I, it's the military scenes, which we can see on the northern exterior wall of the hypostyle hole where we can see the

king in the battlefield when he tried to invade Palestine to save the boundaries of Egypt against some tribes who wanted to invade Egypt so that in his first year of his reign, he started to stop all of these tribes to enter to Egypt to make kind of hostilities against Egypt. So that he led his army, marched to the north and he started some battles against some tribes in Palestine called Shasu. some tribes in Palestine called Shasu. And he reached to Lebanon and he brought some wood, the cedar wood from there, and he come back again. So the king city, he was one of the most important kings who helped and built special buildings in Karnak temples. So he's a pharaoh that you can see the legacy of today in Karnak.

You can see his military legacy, as you mentioned, on that exterior wall, his military achievements. But also, we are sitting in the Hyperstyle Hall, at one of those 122 columns, you can see his architectural achievements too. I mean, the building achievements. It's got Seti all over the place. I know it's got Ramesses, his son and successor there too,

but if you come to somewhere like Karnak, you can't help but know or hear or think of the name Seti I. Yes, of course. Seti I. He was the father of the King Ramses. And by the way, the King Ramses, he ruled for 67 years. That's insane back then. Yes, it was a long time to do something like this but his father city he didn't rule like his son because he was so old so he died early i want to say maybe if the

king city he lived more he could do something amazing more than the hypostyle hall or more than the military scenes which he represented on the exterior wall of the hypostyle hall but anyway even his time was so short the king city he did something amazing in karnak, like the Hybostyle Hall, which they spent more than 120 years just in this part of the temple. And until this moment, we think that it's the most impressive part of all of Karnak complex. It is incredibly impressive, absolutely indeed. Let's go and have a walk around. Yeah, let's go. Over on the Warfare podcast by History Hit,

we bring you brand new military histories from around the world. Each week, twice a week, we release new episodes with world-leading historians, expert policy makers, and the veterans who served. from the greatest tanks of the Second World War. And so what are you actually trying to get out of your tank? You're trying to get maneuverability and you're trying to get a really big gun. Your Tiger and your Panther are there to dominate the battlefield, primarily on the Eastern Front and in North Africa and all that sort of stuff. By the time they're actually coming in in decent numbers, that moment has already passed. Through to new histories that help us understand current conflicts.

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the size of the columns you're walking through, you're weaving your way through, well, they make you feel quite small indeed. But what was the function of the Hyperstar Hall? What was it used for? The function to build the hypostyle hall was a kind of imitation for the myth and the legend of Horus. The legend of Horus? Exactly. When the god Osiris died, the legal heir, he was his son and his successor, the وفي ذلك الوقت قد مات الله أزيروس كان يسكن أبنه وخادمه الله حوروس

لكن أبيه قد تفعل هذا وحاول أن يقتله لأخذ قائمة إيجابية لكي تحاول أم الله حوروس وعيشهم في محطة الدلتة التي تغطيها بطاقات أبيروس وفتاة تحاولت تخفيه من الداخل ومن بين هذه الفتاة والطاقات الأبيروس كمدير مجاني لعيشة إيجيب

لكي يفعلوا نفس الشيء هنا في المنزل الهيبوستيلي the throne of Egypt, so that they did the same here in the Hypostyle Hall, which looks like a veritable forest in stone. Yes, because you've got these columns here at the end, you know, these closed papyrus columns. Exactly. Those gigantic open papyrus ones in the centre, that central colonnade. This is the point. That's the point.

So they represent the papyri of this myth of this legend of Horus. Exactly. The Hyperstal Hall contains a total of 134 columns. The vast majority, 122 of them in fact, are 15 metre high closed papyrus columns. So called because the top of each column resembles a closed papyrus flower. The 12 gigantic 22-metre high columns that form the hall's central colonnade are open papyrus. Open, as their tops resemble an open papyrus flower. Why sometimes open, sometimes closed? We think this depends on the sunlight.

Why? Because originally this part of the temple was roofed. Right. So that the floors on each side, it's completely under the shade. So it's not grown up easily. But in the middle, the larger columns, it comes the sunbeams from the small comes the small windows up there ah so those small slits yes exactly okay so it take the sun easily so that it's grown up so easy so that it depends of the light it's the flower grown up or not grown up this part of temple, the Haibu style hall, it was for the most important people like the royal family, the people around the king, just to enter and to be in this part of the temple, to make kind of rituals and ceremonies.

So completely unlike today where anyone can come in, you know, it's such a popular attraction as we can see right now. Of course not. Back in ancient Egypt, no one would be allowed in, no one of the common people as you said it was just it was special access no way whether you're in your running era pilates era or yoga era dive into peloton workouts that work with you from meditating at your kids game to mastering a strength program they've got everything you need to keep knocking down your goals no pressure to be who you're not just workouts and But perhaps the most striking aspect of the Hy Hyperstyle Hall's busy central colonnade is the colour that you can still see so clearly on these columns. And, Tye, the colour here is absolutely incredible.

You'd be forgiven for thinking it's been painted on, but no. I mean, what's the story behind this beautiful colour? No way. All of these colours are original. They're original. Belongs to the time, yes, yes. In spite, the Hype Style Hall was initiated, the work was initiated during the time of the king Amenophis III,

just in the middle part. Yes. And we are talking around 1390 BC. وكانت تقديمها في وقت رئيسي أمينوفيس الثالث في المنطقة الأوسط نعم ونحن نتحدث عن 1390 ب.س. لكن تقديم المنطقة في المنطقة المنطقة المنطقة بدأت في وقت رئيسي المنطقة والأب رمسي ورمسي الرئيسي والأب رمسي وشخصيه انتهى العمل وق من رمسي ورمسي ورمسي

انتهى العمل ومدينة المنزل يمكنكم رؤية الأزرار المباشرة في كل مكان من المفهوم رؤية كل هذه الأزرار بعد ثلاثة ألف سنوات التي استخدمناها لرؤيةها مغطية بشكل مختص والمخبز والآن يمكننا رؤيةها بشكل مباشر بعد المشروع الذي بدأناه منذ ثلاثة أشهر to see it covered by dust and the smoke. And now we can see it very clear after the project which we started about eight months ago. Now on these coloured columns, you can see depictions of Ramesses II making offerings to various gods, particularly various forms of Amun.

The fertility version of Amun, but also the version of Amun that becomes very prominent at the time of the 18th Dynasty and from then on, where Amun becomes the god of the universe, the head god, Amun-Ra. On one column you can see Ramesses offering milk to Amun, on another he's offering red wine, on another there's bread, and so on. It is the Hyperstal Hall. It's an absolutely stunning structure. But it wasn't just men who built its karnak in ancient Egyptian times. Women also built here too. Particularly a remarkable 18th dynasty pharaoh called Hatshepsut.

Now, Tayeb, keeping on the 18th dynasty, the famous 18th dynasty, I'd love to ask you a bit more about the pharaoh Hatshepsut because we seem to see her constructions, her monuments, her image all around the Karnak complex. Yes, the queen Hatshepsut. She was one of the most important queens who did amazing work in Karnak and I told you the golden age and the golden time for Karnak temples it was during the 18th dynasty so the queen Hatshepsut she was a woman but she wanted to prove that despite she was a woman, she can do something like the men. So that she represented herself like the pharaohs, the men. She wore the headdress of the men. She wore the short skirt.

She even wore the false beard beard so that she represented herself just like a man and she ruled for 22 years and during this time she did amazing job in Karnak Temples for example we discovered in our restoration for the third gate or the third pylon, we discovered the Red Chabal, which belongs to the time of the Queen Hatshepsut. And it's one of the most important shrines of all of Karnak temples. It's built of quartzite stone, which they brought from the Red Chabal. And this is red-colored. This is a great red-colored stone. Yes, exactly.

So that we called it Red Chapel. And we think the Red Chapel of the Queen Hatshepsut was in the middle of Karnak Temples instead of the shrine of the King Philip Aridais. Originally, the shrine of the Queen Hatshepsut was there at the Holy of Holies or the sacred bark of the Karnak temples. But later, maybe the king Thutmose and his follower, they dismantled this shrine and threw the stones away

until the king Amenophis III came and he decided to reuse this block again as fill in his gate the third gate or the third pylon in the middle of in the center of karmak temples now there's one thing that i'd love to ask you about there and we're going back to amman here but it's a key part of the amman story and that was the sacred bark this boat you see his depiction of it in the chapel rouge as well i mean what was the sacred bark festival? Why was it so important? Actually, the sacred bark of the Gad Amun, it wasn't just for one festival. No, actually, it was a wooden boot, a wooden boot, and it had the most sacred statue, which made of pure gold. And they hide it inside a niche or a nose in the middle of the boat.

And this boat was get out from the shrine to be carried on the shoulders of the priests during many celebrations and feasts, like the festival of the Obet, like the festival of the beautiful valley, when they used to carry this boat to go to Luxor Temple by the Nile or by the Sphinx Avenue. This is during the festival of Obet. Sometimes they cross the Nile with the boat, carrying on the shoulders of the priests to go to the Valley of the Kings to visit the ancestors. It seems such an important ceremony and so connected to Karnak through its long history.

And to see, therefore, visual depictions on it of somewhere like the Chapelle Rouge of Hatshepsut I mean if we focus in on Hatshepsut and Amun's relationship because time and time again you don't only just see Hatshepsut at Karnak but you see her alongside Amun the sacred bark ceremony and so many others it's really interesting how closely connected she is to Amun yes exactly even some of the kings and queens and the Egyptian civilization claimed that they are the sons or the daughters of the god one of these queens and kings she was the queen Hatshepsut she claimed that she was the daughter of the god Amun-Ra so that she ruled Egypt because she wasn't just a queen she was the daughter of the god Amun-Ra and she recorded this on a wall inside the birthday wall in Luxor Temple.

We can say how the queen, she recorded that she was the daughter of the god Ra from her mother, the goddess Ahmos. Now one last thing on Hatshepsut before we move on. I've got to ask about the obelisks of Hatshepsut at Karnak, because it talks to me a bit about the obelisks, and also the restoration work of one fallen obelisk, which you've now, it's no longer fallen. Aha.

Actually, the Queen Hatshepsut, as I said before, she did a great job in Karnak temples. One of the most important features for this queen, the two obelisks, which she erected in the middle of Karnak temples. Each one about 30 meters in height. And it's made of red granite from the quarry in Aswan. How far away is Aswan? More than 500 kilometers. Really? Wow!

Yes, more than 500 kilometers, just south of Luxor. So that it was a long, long way to bring this kind of stuff, especially when you know that the weight of this obelisk, more than 300 tons, one single piece of red granite. I guess it's a great example of the effort that they were willing to go to to get these monoliths up at a place like Karnak and then decorate them too. Were these solar symbols, were they associated with Amun? Can we imagine them being really beautiful to look at

in ancient Egyptian times actually the decoration for many gods like the god Amun the god Amun this is another form of the god Amun the goddesses like Isis Hathor M, all of these decorations which colored. It's scattered and it's spread everywhere in Karnak temples. In spite, it defaced many of these colors, are destroyed because of the nature, because of the earthquakes, and unfortunately, because of the people who lived in the medieval times inside karnak temples and reused some parts of the temple so that all of this badly effect on the colors some parts are destroyed some parts are covered by smog from the people who lived there

and used to make the fire for cooking for firing so that the smog was covered completely these parts of the color so that in spite all of this still you can see some perfect remains and amazing remains of the color everywhere like in the hypostyle hole like and the holy of holies in the middle of karnak temples and khonsu temple still exist some remains of the color who give us an idea how the temple was during the ancient times it is absolutely astonishing and i love the fact that at this place you know you're reconstructing some 4 000 year old buildings you're cleaning away some of these columns to get the color to show how beautiful it would have looked like thousands

of years ago you're re-erecting obelisks like that fallen obelisk that has just recently been erected hasn't it of Hatshepsut yes it did actually it's not a complete one because this is the southern obelisk of the queen Hatshepsut but this is the just the upper part and this upper part was lying nearby the sacred lake for more than 100 years and the ministry of tourism and antiquities started to re-erect this part of the obelisk of the queen Hatshepsut again وضعنا مجدداً مجدداً ثلاثة أشهر منذ بدأنا بعمل تحديد ومحافظة وقمنا بعمل مجدد جديد لجزء من المجدد وقمنا بإرساله مجدداً مباشرة إلى المحطة المسيحية. تحتوي على 10 متر في طولة

و 80 تونز أكثر من 80 تونز فقط 10 متر من طولة and about 80 tons, more than 80 tons, just 10 meters of the whole length of the queen, obelisk of the queen Hatshepsut. Well, Tayeb, I could ask questions for hours, but I'm going to wrap it up there for the moment. Thank you so much for coming on the podcast today. Thank you so much. Well, there you go.

There was the legend, that is Tayeb, the director of Karnak Temples, giving you an introduction of karnak temples giving you an introduction to karnak and why it is such an incredible place to go and visit i loved visiting karnak definitely one of the greatest ancient sites that i've ever been to so i highly recommend if anyone wants to go down the nile in the future or up the river nile so to speak to definitely check out karnak in Monday Luxor. You won't be disappointed.

It's incredible. But that's enough from me. Last but certainly not least, if you'd be kind enough to leave us a lovely rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts from, we, the whole team, will greatly appreciate it as we continue our mission to share these awesome stories

from ancient history with you. It's been an absolute pleasure, and long may the Ancients podcast continue. But that's enough from me and I'll see you in the next episode. We'll be right back. Thank you.