Photo and copyright by Underwood & Underwood 



THP: most BEAUTIP^UI. COI.ONADK IN EGYPT, LOOKING SOUTH ACROSS THE COURT OE 



AMENHOTEP III, LUXOR TEMPLE: THEBES 



The temple of Luxor is one of the finest of the monuments of ancient Thebes and is 

 of enormous dimensions, measuring 900 feet from back to front. The columns surrounding 

 the open court shown in the picture are characteristically Eg3'ptian. Each column is meant 

 to suggest a cluster of papyrus buds, the shaft being the stems and the capital the buds, 

 while the plain broad surface below is the band of linen holding the cluster together. The 

 larger columns to the left, forming the nave of an unfinished hall, are of the open flower 

 type, the capital showing the open bell of the lotus blossom. These columns were painted in 

 the natural hues of the flowers they represented and the effect of these vivid colors under the 

 intense blue of an Egyptian sky can easily be imagined. 



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