{"id":1210,"date":"2012-12-25T18:23:49","date_gmt":"2012-12-25T23:23:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hellum.ca\/blog\/?p=1210"},"modified":"2019-04-28T14:13:44","modified_gmt":"2019-04-28T18:13:44","slug":"karnak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hellum.ca\/blog\/karnak\/","title":{"rendered":"Karnak…"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22.3″ custom_padding=”0px|||||”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.22.3″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.22.4″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”]<\/p>\n

Karnak has always seemed the pinnacle of tourist experience in Egypt to me; more even than touring the Pyramids. There is a fine line, it turns out, between a thoroughly pedestrian experience in Egypt and an exquisite observation of Previous Man. I thank my sister Jennifer for this distinction, although the latter is exceedingly difficult to come by in this caustic nation of gimme here and gimme now. The present world is in such extreme need of attention and receipt, that the ancient world can get lost before you like a mirage at your very feet. Jennifer once pointed out to me what must by now seem a very ordinary observation to her now; the persistence of vision in early Egyptian statuary wherein the figures really do feel to be gazing into eternity. The pupils of the eyes are not sunken or carved in, they are convex and stare without blinking into the world beyond what we see. Although made by hand, they do so feel to be made by those who have seen the other side. If you are careful, if you are mindful, and if you can focus properly, you can mitigate the day before you and observe Egypt through these stone eyes and *feel* the expanse and breadth of their thousands of years. But it sure ain’t easy.<\/p>\n

We had plans to visit the Luxor Museum as well, but the Karnak complex is large and the effort to simply walk was beyond my Mum today and we relented to a chair outside at a cafe with a cola, and then relented again when we realized that it was probably still too much for her and that we likely didn’t have the entry fee anyway. So it goes. It is a beautiful museum, really lovely and small. But I have seen it several times, Carrie’s been there and so has Mum anyway. We would be taking children who were a little less enthusiastic than us anyway.<\/p>\n

So here are today’s images:<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.22.4″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.22.4″][et_pb_blurb box_shadow_style_image=”preset1″ image=”http:\/\/www.hellum.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/DSC0296.jpg” _builder_version=”3.22.4″]A boy runs by a house which has the remains of a Sphinx still half buried before it along the avenue of the Sphinxes linking Luxor and Karnak.[\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_blurb box_shadow_style_image=”preset1″ image=”http:\/\/www.hellum.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/DSC0299.jpg” _builder_version=”3.22.4″]A small shop sports a model on the wall that likely shows the owner to be a Haji, or one who has made the pilgrimage to Meccah.[\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_blurb box_shadow_style_image=”preset1″ image=”http:\/\/www.hellum.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/DSC0306.jpg” _builder_version=”3.22.4″]I take a photo in nearly the same spot as Francis Frith did 150 years ago (Karnak southern gate).[\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_blurb box_shadow_style_image=”preset1″ image=”http:\/\/www.hellum.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/DSC0325.jpg” _builder_version=”3.22.4″]Carrie and Finn fixing a blister just inside the Great Pylons at the entrance to Karnak.[\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_blurb box_shadow_style_image=”preset1″ image=”http:\/\/www.hellum.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/DSC0369.jpg” _builder_version=”3.22.4″]I take another photo inside the Great Hypostyle Hall, in pretty much the exact spot Francis Frith stood 150 years ago; except about 20 feet down as the soil level was much higher then.[\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_blurb box_shadow_style_image=”preset1″ image=”http:\/\/www.hellum.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/DSC0455.jpg” _builder_version=”3.22.4″]Coptic graffiti in antiquity.[\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_blurb box_shadow_style_image=”preset1″ image=”http:\/\/www.hellum.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/DSC0469.jpg” _builder_version=”3.22.4″]Inside Hatshepsut’s Sanctuary, where I proposed to Carrie mid-March in 2000. The central figure (Hatshepsut?) was exised in antiquity.[\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_blurb box_shadow_style_image=”preset1″ image=”http:\/\/www.hellum.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/DSC0486.jpg” _builder_version=”3.22.4″]Carrie stands in the same doorway where she stood 12 years ago shortly after I proposed.[\/et_pb_blurb][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.22.4″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.22.4″][et_pb_gallery posts_number=”12″ show_title_and_caption=”off” box_shadow_style_image=”preset1″ _builder_version=”3.22.4″ gallery_ids=”3110,3109,3106,3105,3104,3103,3102,3101,3100,3099,3098,3097,3096,3094,3093,3092,3091,3089,3085″][\/et_pb_gallery][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Karnak has always seemed the pinnacle of tourist experience in Egypt to me; more even than touring the Pyramids. There is a fine line, it turns out, between a thoroughly pedestrian experience in Egypt and an exquisite observation of Previous Man. I thank my sister Jennifer for this distinction, although the latter is exceedingly difficult […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"Karnak has always seemed the pinnacle of tourist experience in Egypt to me; more even than touring the Pyramids. There is a fine line, it turns out, between a thoroughly pedestrian experience in Egypt and an exquisite observation of Previous Man. I thank my sister Jennifer for this distinction, although the latter is exceedingly difficult to come by in this caustic nation of gimme here and gimme now. The present world is in such extreme need of attention and receipt, that the ancient world can get lost before you like a mirage at your very feet. Jennifer once pointed out to me what must by now seem a very ordinary observation to her now; the persistence of vision in early Egyptian statuary wherein the figures really do feel to be gazing into eternity. The pupils of the eyes are not sunken or carved in, they are convex and stare without blinking into the world beyond what we see. Although made by hand, they do so feel to be made by those who have seen the other side. If you are careful, if you are mindful, and if you can focus properly, you can mitigate the day before you and observe Egypt through these stone eyes and *feel* the expanse and breadth of their thousands of years. But it sure ain't easy.\n\nWe had plans to visit the Luxor Museum as well, but the Karnak complex is large and the effort to simply walk was beyond my Mum today and we relented to a chair outside at a cafe with a cola, and then relented again when we realized that it was probably still too much for her and that we likely didn't have the entry fee anyway. So it goes. It is a beautiful museum, really lovely and small. But I have seen it several times, Carrie's been there and so has Mum anyway. We would be taking children who were a little less enthusiastic than us anyway.\n\nSo here are today's images:\n\n\"DSC0294\"\n\n\"DSC0296\"\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nA boy runs by a house which has the remains of a Sphinx still half buried before it along the avenue of the Sphinxes linking Luxor and Karnak.\n\n \n\n\"DSC0299\"\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nA small shop sports a model on the wall that likely shows the owner to be a Haji, or one who has made the pilgrimage to Meccah.\n\n \n\n\"DSC0306\"\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nI take a photo in nearly the same spot as Francis Frith did 150 years ago (southern gate).\n\n \n\n\"DSC0309\"\n\n\"DSC0325\"\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nCarrie and Finn fixing a blister just inside the Great Pylons at the entrance to Karnak.\n\n \n\n\"DSC0332\"\n\n\"DSC0340\"\n\n\"DSC0346\"\n\n\"DSC0359\"\n\n\"DSC0369\"\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nI take another photo inside the Great Hypostyle Hall, in pretty much the exact spot Francis Frith stood 150 years ago; except about 20 feet down as the soil level was much higher then.\n\n \n\n\"DSC0371\"\n\n\"DSC0380\"\n\n\"DSC0388\"\n\n\"DSC0394\"\n\n\"DSC0400\"\n\n\"DSC0403\"\n\n\"DSC0411\"\n\n\"DSC0413\"\n\n\"DSC0430\"\n\n\"DSC0435\"\n\n\"DSC0449\"\n\n\"DSC0455\"\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nCoptic graffiti in antiquity.\n\n \n\n \n\n\"DSC0469\"\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nInside Hatshepsut's Sanctuary, where I proposed to Carrie mid-March in 2000. The central figure (Hatshepsut?) was existed in antiquity.\n\"DSC0474\"\n\n\"DSC0478\"\n\n\"DSC0486\"\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nCarrie stands in the same doorway where she stood 12 years ago shortly after I proposed.","_et_gb_content_width":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-historical","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hellum.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hellum.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hellum.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hellum.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hellum.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1210"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.hellum.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1210\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3112,"href":"https:\/\/www.hellum.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1210\/revisions\/3112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hellum.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hellum.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hellum.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}