We had decided to be extra, extra cautious with our visit to Egypt so we arranged for guides and drivers during our stay. We arrived safe and sound in Cairo and then to Luxor where we boarded a cruise down the Nile. Our fist stop was to Karnack Temple, 65 acres of ancient ruins. The construction of the temple started during the 16th century B.C. About 30 pharaohs gave a contribution to the buildings, which enabled it to reach a diversity, complexity, and size that is not seen anywhere else in the world.
There are inlaid carvings galore. The figure to the left of this next picture is the God of Fertility.
He is depicted having only one arm and one leg. This is because- so the story goes- during some big wars, while the other gods were off fighting, they left him in charge of the tombs and the temples and he made every woman left behind pregnant. They cut off his arm to punish him.
They went to war again and he remained behind to repeat his offense. This time they cut off his leg. They didn't cut off his penis (perhaps the obvious choice to stop his philandering!) because, well, he was the god of fertility!
There are other statues, King Tut-
And nearby in Luxor Temple, the Ramses II statue:
This king was quite a leader and ruled for 67 years until his death at 96 years of age. During this time, he had 200 wives and sired 96 boys and 102 girls. He was also a great warrior, bringing peace during his dynasty. Busy, busy guy for sure.
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