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The first pylon of Karnak Temple

The largest pylon in all of Egypt, 32 meters high, stands tall in front of the Karnak temples. Its construction continued from the 23rd dynasty until the 30th dynasty. It is the first pylon of Karnak Temple.

 

It was planned to be 40 meters high, 15 meters thick, and 113 meters long, but due to its massiveness, it was never completed. It is not known who started its construction because of the lack of inscriptions on it, but it is likely that it was started by the kings of the 22nd dynasty, where an inscription was found of King "Shashenq", who sent an expedition in the year 21 of his reign in order to bring sandstone from Jabal al-Silsila to build a huge pylon and a foyer for celebrations. Others see them as kings of the 25th Nubian dynasty.

 

In the middle of the pylon, there is a door, 26 meters high, and each wing is decorated with four flags. There are four holes at the top to install the masts, which were 50 meters high. In front of the pylon, two huge statues rest, as well as an internal staircase that reaches up.

 

It is worth noting that Karnak Temple is a group of temples, where kings from the Middle Kingdom until the end of historical times were keen to make additions to it until it reached an area of 46 acres.