Ida Uhse disembarking at Thebes

TO THEBES

The visit to Luxor and Karnak seems to have been one of the highlights of the von Hallwyl’s Nile voyage. The lady’s companion Ida Uhse writes in her travel diary that they stay there for five days and return to the temple ruins again and again:

“Luxor, 10th of Jan. Rode in the morning to the ruins of Karnak, the most remarkable ruins of ancient Thebes. Through an avenue of sphinxes you arrive at the Temple of Khonsu, devoted to the moon god Khonsu. North of this temple is the large Temple of Amon, where the first pylon at the entrance is 113 m wide, 15 m thick and 43 m high. You can climb it using a narrow stairway. Once up there, you have a good view of the whole temple. The temple courtyard has an area of 8,160 square metres, ending in colonnades to the left and right, on the right is the Temple of Ramesses III. From the main courtyard you enter the Great Hypostyle Hall. The columns are built of ashlar blocks and the largest column is 21 m high, 5 m thick and covered with images of the lives of kings and gods. The walls too are covered in reliefs of historical images such as ‘the brave warrior’, Seti I and others. The temple also contained a variety of further pylons, hypostyle halls and courtyards, as well as obelisks, both standing and overturned. The inner sanctum has been partially destroyed; however, the walls are still covered in well-preserved colour reliefs.

In the eastern part of the temple there is a large hypostyle hall, Thutmose III, where the capital has the unusual shape of a reversed clock. In one small chamber, the ceiling is held up by columns shaped like bunches of papyrus stalks, very unusual, and there are also images of animals and plants brought from Syria to Egypt. It is a shame that many columns have been overturned by an earthquake.
Karnak, Luxor and their surroundings used to be part of Thebes. The remains of the temple make a magnificent impression, and it gives you an idea of the city’s former glory. The avenues of sphinxes are relatively well-preserved; one of them leads all the way down to the Nile.”