Karnak is an Egyptian village two and a half kilometers north of Luxor, on the site of ancient Egyptian Thebes. It occupies about half of the territory of the great temple of Amun – Ipet-Sut (Opet, Opet), which began to be built in the 20th century. BC e. and served as the main state sanctuary throughout the history of the New Kingdom. This temple – without any doubt the largest in terms of area in the entire ancient world – was connected to the Luxor Temple on the banks of the Nile by a paved avenue of sphinxes.

Temple of Amun-Ra
Все периоды египетской истории XVI—XI веков BC e. left traces here; every pharaoh – not excluding even the Hyksos dynasty, who especially decorated their northern residence in Avaris – tried to perpetuate his name here. The grain represents the sanctuary of the main temple, founded under Senusret I and completed by Thutmose III, who opened it on both sides and added another, in the east, with a large hypostyle hall, on the walls of which he inscribed the famous royal table with annals, partly transferred to Paris.
The construction of other parts of the eastern half of the temple belongs to other kings of the XVIII dynasty. The western half of the temple, separated by a lane, is better preserved, consisting of: a) a large (5000 m²) hypostyle hall erected during the 19th dynasty and b) a huge (8160 m²) peristyle courtyard built under the Bubastids. Small temples were included in this courtyard: Ramses III, whose wall crossed the southern fence of the courtyard, and Seti II – in the northwestern corner. The outer walls of this part of the temple are covered with interesting inscriptions and images: on the south side of the courtyard is the famous victorious monument of Sheshenq I after the Palestinian campaign against Rehoboam. On the northern wall of the hypostyle hall are the military exploits of Seti I in Canaan and Amorite and his triumph, and on the southern wall are the exploits of Ramesses II and the so-called Pentaura epic.
The agreement with the Hittites is inscribed on the adjoining fence, which begins a whole series of courtyards and pylons, built by various kings of the XVIII-XX dynasties and heading south, to the avenue of sphinxes – the dromos of a new series of temples, also surrounded by a fence and erected on the shore of the horseshoe-shaped sacred lake Yesher. The main one, built by Amenhotep III, is dedicated to the mother of Amon – Mut. To the west of the row of courtyards is a small, elegant temple of Khonsu, founded by Ramses III and having in front of it built at the Ptolemaic pylon and the avenue of sphinxes, towards Luxor; even to the west – a small temple of the goddess of the Nile, Apet, now serving as a museum.

To the east of the row of courtyards is the sacred lake, which served for the processions of the barge of Amon. To the north of the main temple, in a special enclosure, is the third group of sanctuaries; most importantly, in honor of Montu, founded by Amenhotep III. From here to the north there is also an alley of sphinxes. Nectaneb II, despite Persian oppression, managed to build a pylon to the east of the ancient sanctuary, which, thus, turned out to be in the very center of the buildings. Повреждения, нанесённые Артаксерксом III, были исправлены первыми Птолемеями, но при последних началось падение храма, окончательно завершившееся землетрясением 27 года BC e.