History of Egypt, Chaldæa, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria in the Light of Recent Discovery by H.R. Hall;L. W. (Leonard William) King
page 294 of 357 (82%)
page 294 of 357 (82%)
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the steamers and dahabiyas rise the stately coloured colonnades of the
Temple of Luxor. Unfortunately, modern excavations have not been allowed to pursue their course to completion here, as in the first great colonnaded court, which was added by Ramses II to the original building of Amenhetep III, Tutankhamen, and Horemheb, there still remains the Mohammedan Mosque of Abu-'l-Haggâg, which may not be removed. Abu-'l-Haggâg, "the Father of Pilgrims" (so called on account of the number of pilgrims to his shrine), was a very holy shêkh, and his memory is held in the greatest reverence by the Luksuris. It is unlucky that this mosque was built within the court of the Great Temple, and it cannot be removed till Moslem religious prejudices become at least partially ameliorated, and then the work of completely excavating the Temple of Luxor may be carried out. Between Luxor and Karnak lay the temple of the goddess Mut, consort of Amen and protectress of Thebes. It stood in the part of the city known as Asheru. This building was cleared in 1895 at the expense and under the supervision of two English ladies, Miss Benson and Miss Gourlay. [Illustration: 374.jpg THE NILE-BANK AT LUXOR] With A Dahabîya And A Steamer Of The Anglo-American Nile Company. The temple had always been remarkable on account of the prodigious number of seated figures of the lioness-headed goddess Sekhemet, or Pakhet, which it contains, dedicated by Amenhetep III and Sheshenk I; most of those in the British Museum were brought from this temple. The excavators found many more of them, and also some very interesting portrait-statues of the late period which had been dedicated there. |
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