The Colonnade of Amenhotep III is the most architecturally imposing element inside Luxor Temple: a double row of fourteen papyrus columns, each over 19 metres tall, opening into the great processional court. The columns were built around 1380 BC and decorated with relief scenes by Tutankhamun after Akhenaten's religious revolution was reversed.
Walking through the colonnade gives a powerful physical sensation of scale — these are very large columns in a relatively narrow space, and the effect is one of compression and height simultaneously. The reliefs on the walls, showing the Opet Festival procession, are in good condition and worth examining with a torch. The colonnade connects the outer courtyard (added by Ramses II) to the inner courts of Amenhotep III's original temple, and the transition marks a clear change in the quality and character of the architecture.