The Open Air Museum in Karnack Temple

The OPEN AIR MUSEUM

The White Chapel of Sensuret 1
The Red Chapel of Hatshepsut
& the Alabaster Chapel of Amenophis

The pylons of Karnack Temple hold many secrets, but I believe the gods wanted to share with us the secret of the beautiful workmanship that had been created for them when in 1924 the third pylon was damaged by an earthquake. To repair the damage it was necessary to dismantle the pylon, during the works, blocks were discovered that have since been meticulously pieced together and gradually over the and years beautiful shrines and chapels have risen again that had been buried within the third pylon during the reign of Amenophis 111, they have been carefully reconstructed in the grounds of
the Open Air Museum in the precincts of Karnack Temple, and they are amazing.

In the heat of an afternoon I stood in the first courtyard of Karnack temple underneath the imposing statue of Ramses the Great with his daughter Bintah that became his consort wife standing between his legs,  I took the path down the side of the colossi  and walked towards a row of sphinx that sat  on the edge of the courtyard, passing between a row of columns I  then entered through the gateway in the side wall of the courtyard, and it was as if I had walked through a portal of time and warped into another dimension, I walked  completely alone up a winding  path and reflected that in the courtyard behind me hundreds of people were oblivious to this quiet  secret garden of delight that I alone had discovered  and  entered into.  As I walked up the path rows of blocks were all laid out, they were jigsaw pieces of stone with their messages from the past patiently waiting to be pieced together again. As I walked around the bend my eyes were drawn to the pale cream elegant chapel in the shade of the trees that dark green leaves overhung in this quiet corner of Karnack. To my delight I had found the exquisite White Chapel originally created during the Middle Kingdom for Sensuret1 of the 12th Dynasty to celebrate his Sed- festival.

 This elegant little chapel in Tura limestone is thought to be one of the earliest structures created in Karnack and we are so blessed that our eyes can admire it once again. It was re- constructed by Henri Chevrier. Two ramps lead up into a small rectangular chapel from its base facing each other. Twelve external square pillars and four internal pillars support the ceiling; these have the finest cut delicate inscriptions and show Sensuret embracing the gods Amen Ptah Atum and Horus each god is placed at one of the four cardinal points of the earth.  The beams of sunlight flood through the square pillars and highlight the intricate relief’s they touch

An inscription on the North corner pillar of the chapel reads: ‘Come in peace, O Sensuret, that thou mayest see thy father Amun Ra who loves thee, that he may give thee kingship of the two lands’ Sensuret came to the throne as co-regent with his father Amenemhet 1 during the 20th year of his fathers reign. During these early years Sensuret went on many campaigns to Syria and Nubia, unfortunately whilst he was on campaign in Libya he received news that his father had been assassinated. Sensuret then became the sole king of Egypt and he ruled for 34 years. Three years before he died he elevated his own son Amenemhet 11 as his co-regent, and finally he was buried in the pyramid he had built a mile from his fathers at El Lisht.

At the side of Sensuret’s  chapel stand two small simple alabaster barque shrines, one for Tuthmosis 1V and the further one was built for Amenophis 1 whose  beautiful Throne name  was ‘Holy is the Soul of Re’ . These two rectangular barque shrines are simple in design  when you compare them  to the feeling of majesty as you look back at the chapel of Sensuret, but as no-one was in the grounds I decided to lay on the floor within the shrine of Amenophis  and admire the beauty of the ceiling and walls  that are made entirely of alabaster with  the grain and colours swirled around me, the large carving on the wall  glowed as the sunlight touched the face of Amenophis, I stood up and wanted to touch the weave of his hair, but I resisted the temptation.

Eventually I left the alabaster shrine that in its own simple elegance had given me a sense of calm and showed me the beauty of alabaster. I then followed the path towards the exciting Red Chapel of Hatshepsut and my expectations increased because here was a queen who was obviously determined to out due the works of all previous kings and create the most beautiful and unusual gifts for Amun. I was not disappointed as I arrived at Hatshepsut’s creation, walking around the base there is a grey diorite frieze that is divided into squares each one representing a Nome of ancient Egypt .

The nomes were divided into capital towns, cultivated lands, marshes and canals, the frieze shows male and female engravings bringing gifts of all things pure for Amon, the male is the god Hapi with his flabby tummy, some of the engravings still show signs of gold paint in their hollows. I take the steps and enter through the open doorway that is also framed with grey diorite; I was now stood in the vestibule of the Set-ib-Imen (place of the heart of Amon).  Hatshepsut began the creation of the Red Chapel during the later years of her reign to replace the alabaster chapel of Amenophis 1 and as original as ever she chose to make it from Red Quartzite blocks, an unusual choice of material to use as it has a deep red ochre colour and not normally chosen for a barque shrine. The rectangular shape has three doorways, two rooms, and an open roof.  The first room is a small vestibule and the larger second room was the sanctuary to shelter the boat of Amon on a small altar of rest.  The floor is paved and has a gully that the waters of purification would flow through during the ritual ceremonies. Inside the sanctuary there is a frieze crossing the wall with the Djed pillar (stability) Was-sceptre (strength) and the Ankh (life). The vestibule has a frieze of the Rekhyt bird which refers to the adoration of all the people The blocks that were retrieved from inside the third pylon and have been  incorporated into the walls  of the shrine refer to the  major events of that took place during Hatshepsuts reign, her enthronement, the  annual Feast of Opet ,  during which a grand procession  left  Karnack temple to arrive at Luxor Temple,  this took place in the second month of the flood season and was held to celebrate the renewal of kingship and the Divine marriage of Amon to Mut. The blocks also show The Beautiful Feast of the Valley this was held between March and June when the sacred barques of Amun Mut and Khonsu were taken across the River Nile to the West Bank to visit the mortuary temples of the pharaohs to offer floral tributes.

Walking away from the Red Chapel of Hatshepsut I reflected on the beauty of all the individual barque chapels, the elegance of the White Chapel the cool calm of the alabaster chapels and the larger  imposing chapel of Hatshepsut with its burning warm red bricks and then it occurred  to me the symbolism of  why Hatshepsut had  possibly deviated from traditional materials and chosen  instead  to use this unusual red quartzite, it was simple,  a heart  of a man is deep warm red it pumps the warm blood through the body and sustains the life, and this chapel was ‘The Heart of Amun.’