The largest religious complex ever built. Karnak was the main place of worship in ancient Thebes, expanded by successive pharaohs over 1,500 years across a site measuring 1,500 by 800 metres. What you see today reflects contributions from rulers spanning the Middle Kingdom through the Ptolemies — every dynasty left something here. The Great Hypostyle Hall is the centrepiece: 134 towering columns decorated with carved relief, still astonishing after 3,300 years. Walk through at your own pace and give yourself more time than you think you need.
Temple of Karnak
Ancient Egypt's largest temple complex, built over 1,500 years
A story
The Great Hypostyle Hall was built by Seti I and finished by Ramses II in the late 13th century BC. Its 134 papyrus-shaped columns cover 6,000 square metres — enough floor space for both St Paul's Cathedral and St Peter's in Rome combined.