Next you enter into the court of Ramses II. There is the Abu al-Haggag Mosque in the eastern side of the courtyard, and in the western corner there is a shrine dedicated to the Theban triad. Surrounding the courtyard is a double row of papyrus-bud columns that have huge standing colossi of Ramses II (Atherton, 186).
After leaving the courtyard you enter into the original part of the
Once inside you can see the beautiful embellished walls filled with hieroglyphs from the Tutankhamun era (Atherton, 186) I was amazed in the detailed work that had gone into the hieroglyphs and how close I was able to get to them.
Continuing to follow the colonnade you enter into the court of Amenhotep III. Amenhotep III courtyard has beautifully preserved towering double rows of papyrus columns. We were able to see these as the sun began to set, with the sun hitting right behind the columns. It was easy to see why so many Pharaohs valued the
Off of Amenhotep III’s courtyard there are several chambers. One of the chambers was called the hypostyle hall. As you pass through the hypostyle hall you enter into a chamber that was converted into a church by the Romans. You can still see Christian fresco’s on some of the walls. These frescos are so well preserved and beautifully kept that you can still see faces of the saints that were painted on the walls. From the Roman chamber there a two smaller chambers that house even more hieroglyphs and additional columns.
The
BY: Stephanie Hill