Fundamental elements for cultural belief would of course follow traditions of the past. In this case, not only did thousands of years separate the Old Kingdom and New Kingdom, but hundreds of miles as well. The location change brought with it a new interpretation of important solar points aligning with massive stone monuments. The layout of the three Giza Pyramids marking the two extreme solstice sun points and the shared centered equinox points, as seen at Giza, differs at Thebes in the genius architectural setting. What is imperative and was taking place in both locations is the specific practice of venerating solar cycles on specific symbolic horizons and selecting locations for burial and monument sites due to the landscape and sun points.
To look at the entire mountain of western Thebes (modern Luxor), the view is best from the east bank of the Nile. The western mountain rises from the landscape like an island. Many boat-shaped depressions are seen on Luxor’s western horizon from this perspective, but two very significant boat shapes on the horizon warrant special mention. To view these two specific boat shapes it is helpful to view the mountain from specific locations. When changing the viewing locations, by traveling north and south along the east bank of the Nile, the horizon’s appearance transforms.
The best possible boat images are given as examples to introduce the two boat shapes on the western horizon. Once the location of the two boat horizons are known and understood, it is not necessarily imperative to have the best boat image appear from all perspectives. The concept is discernible, but the evidence is not always in plain sight. This misunderstanding of the mountain often results in confusion when viewing the mountain and looking for all of the images presented in the solar boat research of Luxor. You cannot view the West Bank Mountain from just anywhere and see all images perfectly from one perspective. It is an understanding that comes with the knowledge of many perspectives as well as the knowledge of the sun’s changing positions.
Fig. 28 The mountain on Luxor’s West Bank, view from the southeast.
Two significant boat shapes on Luxor’s western horizon are defined as one large barge-shaped horizon and one smaller, curved boat-shaped horizon. One difference between a barge and a boat is size; a barge is the larger of the two and has a flat bottom. A boat, on the other hand, is smaller and has a slightly curved bottom. Locations for these special horizons shows the bigger barge-shaped boat depression running along the top of the mountain, slightly right of center, where-as the smaller boat flanks the sloping southern end of the mountain (left). Although small curved boat-shaped depressions are seen all along the mountain horizon, the two boat shapes mentioned are prominent.
The best view of the large barge-shaped horizon is seen from the Luxor Temple looking to the northwest. From this perspective a large, flat barge shape is seen on top of the mountain horizon. Centered with the barge horizon, on the valley floor below are the mountain cove of Deir el Bahari and the location of Hatshepsut’s Temple. In the same manner, the smaller boat-shaped horizon is best seen from the area of the Karnack Temple when looking in a southwest direction. The pedestal boat shape is clearly visible from the Karnack Temple’s line of sight (Fig. 29). Below the boat shaped horizon on the valley floor is the location of the Palace of Malkata. In this case the best observation points are diagonal from the horizon being viewed. If the boat shapes on the horizons are observed from points directly opposite them, the images of the boat and barge become distorted. The two imaginary diagonal lines that connect the Karnack Temple to the boat shaped horizon and the imaginary diagonal line that connects the Luxor Temple to the barge shaped horizon forms an “X”, and marks the perimeter of the administrative capitol. The letter “X” by the way, when placed inside of a circle is ironically the hieroglyphic sign for “town”.
Fig. 29 Solar-boat sunset on the southern end of the Theban Mountains.
Karnack Temple and Luxor Temple are both located on the Eastern Bank of the Nile, positioned directly opposite from the boat-shaped horizons on the western side of the Nile. The long, flat, barge-shaped horizon on the northern end of the mountain is located opposite the Karnack Temple but best observed from the Luxor Temple in the south. Similarly the smaller pedestal boat-shape seen on the southern end of the mountain is across the river from the Luxor Temple but best observed from the Karnack Temple in the north. Hatshepsut’s temple below the barge horizon and the Palace of Malkata below the small boat horizon form an imaginary tetrahedral-parallelogram between them and the East Bank temples of Luxor and Karnack. Although the four temple locations enclose the town with two sides which align parallel and two sides which are not exactly parallel, it is still a very close rectangle enclosure. And, although the “X” can be represented between the temples it is still not within a land-marked circle (meaning town), unless, the 360-degree landscape view representing the circle is in thought only, thereby forming the city domain of Thebes (the “X”) within an understood circle.
Fig. 30 The solar boat with a pedestal in the center (Photo by Alan Woode, 1996.)
Fig. 31 The western mountain of Luxor, compare to fig. 28 for horizon change.
Compare photos in Fig.28 and 31 of the West Bank horizon to see how it changes from different perspectives. Notice the left corner of the barge-shaped horizon is not as pronounced from certain views, yet more defined when viewed from farther south. Likewise, notice how the pedestal boat shape is distorted when viewed from the south, yet beautifully structured in the pedestal boat shape when viewed from the area of the Karnack Temple in the north. To envision the entire theory one needs a knowledgeable perspective that resides in the mind more so than in literal appearance.
It is important to clarify the phrase “viewed from the Nile in the area of Karnack.” In ancient times the Nile was closer to both the Karnack and Luxor temples. Boats floated directly to the temples along manmade canals. This is the means by which the large building blocks were transported to temple sites. It remained the mode of transportation to and from the temples throughout the New Kingdom. Over time, however, the Nile flood deposits filled the canals between the temples and the river. Today modern boat docks, the Corniche el Nile street, trees, sidewalks, shops, buildings, fences, and in some cases hotels exist on the silt-filled land between the Nile and the temple complex of Luxor and Karnack. The ideal observation points for viewing the sunset positions would have been at the temples themselves, but because the views are now obstructed, photos have often been taken from locations on the banks of the Nile. These photos, when taken in front of the temples and in some cases from boats on the Nile, are equal to those taken from temple positions.
When Luxor’s western horizon is compared to sunset points, the unification of heaven and earth forms a scenario where the summer-solstice sun location marks the beginning of Egyptian New Year. The observation point for viewing the summer-solstice sunset is the Karnack Temple, Egypt’s largest temple dedicated to the setting sun. The main axis of the temple’s colonnade runs from east-southeast to west-northwest and frames the summer-solstice sunset. The orientation of the temple obviously celebrates the setting of the sun in the barge shape horizon at the time of summer solstice.
Furthermore Karnack Temple honors and celebrates the deity Amon-Re. This aspect of Amon-Re is seen in various forms—in the image of a ram, a human with a ram’s head, or even the king wearing an Amon crown. During the New Kingdom Amon-Re was the name given to the sun in descending motion (from the sun’s apex position to the western horizon position). When the sun sets below the horizon it is said that it is “going forth by day,” or in other words, it is moving forward by day to become hidden as “Amon of the West” or “Amonet,” as mentioned in chapter one. Therefore it comes as no surprise that the enormous Karnack Temple located in the east, which so beautifully overlooks the mountain in the west, is a reference point for sunset observations.
Today the range of azimuths for the ecliptic sun positions, when viewed from the Karnack Temple, runs along the horizon beginning with the barge hollow and extending far south of the mountain. The extreme summer-solstice sunset position is somewhat centered in the barge horizon when viewed from the Karnack Temple. After this five-day standstill position in the barge, the sun begins traveling south along the mountain until it reaches the smaller pedestal boat-shaped horizon on the southern end of the mountain for the half-way point of equinox. Then it continues on to set south of the mountain.
An art depiction of a solar-barge and solar-boat as seen in the Temple of Abydos is similar in appearance to the Luxor horizon (Fig. 32). The temple relief depicts the image of the Amon-Re barge and a smaller solar boat with twelve men towing the two boats. Some of the men are seen holding the boat’s rope and towing in opposite directions. Correlations are clearly seen between the mountain and the art, when comparing the Abydos temple art to the boat-shaped horizons. In the temple representation, the Amon-Re barge is seen to the far right, representing the sun’s summer-solstice sunset position, while the smaller solar boat represents the equinox sunset position.
The temple art is seen as a silhouette drawing in fig. 32. The first five men from the right are pulling the rope of the Amon-Re barge to the south (left). The towing direction correlates to the motion of the sun when it has reached the maximum summer-solstice position within the Amon-Re barge horizon. Notice the star above the head of the first deity, who symbolizes the month of June. June is the month known to the ancient Egyptians as “the month of the Dog Star,” a name given to the star Sirius. During the New Kingdom the Dog Star’s heliacal rising occurred during the same week as summer solstice therefore it is very telling for the June deity to include a star above his head. The star’s rare appearance just before dawn is concurrent with the first man, who represents the first month of the New Year. Next to the rope pullers of the Amon-Re barge are four seated deities, who take on the seated form of the judgment ennead. Their position in the core of the procession denotes the center and balance between the maximum sun points. At the southern end of the rope (left) three men are pulling the smaller boat back to the north to indicate the direction of the sun after reaching the winter solstice extreme. Therefore the smaller boat in the relief is equivalent to the smaller boat-shaped horizon and the barge in the relief is equivalent to the barge-shaped mountain horizon. The bas relief represents the twelve months of the year characterized by the twelve male figures towing in intended sun directions. When comparing the relief image to the mountain horizon, the similarities unite and unlock the ancient landscape mystery of Luxor. The western view of sun positions between the two boat-shaped horizons is only half of the ecliptic range however (six months). In other words, the sun travels south of the small boat horizon. To clarify the theory and complete the cycle, the east bank observations must be put into an alternative perspective. When the east bank symbology is understood, the smaller boat representing the winter solstice sun position connects to a winter solstice sunrise alignment with the Luxor Temple and proves the correlation. It is once again a knowledgeable vision that resides inside the mind and combines oppositions.
Fig. 32 Silhouette drawing of temple art in comparison to Luxor’s western mountain
Fig. 33 Amon-Re barge-shaped horizon with centered sunset.
Viewing the East Bank
The eastern horizon of Luxor, when viewed from the west, is relatively flat with the exception of three small mountains in the distant and off-set to the south. In ancient times the temple complex of Karnak and Luxor dominated the east bank landscape. Connecting the two temples is the Avenue of Sphinxes, which is approximately 1.5 miles long. The Karnak Temple is located at the northernmost end of the avenue, while the Luxor Temple is located at the southernmost end of the avenue. The entire layout presents extraordinary architecture with a strong emphasis on the massive temples at each end. The temples of Luxor and Karnak were never completed nor were they ever meant to be complete. Every ruler commissioned his or her own contribution to the temples in order to honor the gods—setting sun markers, re-adjusting alignments, and expressing solar phenomena with symbolism.
Fig. 34 The criosphinxes of Karnack
Fig. 35 The human-headed sphinx of Luxor
For an in-depth description of the Avenue of Sphinxes, the lion-bodied sphinxes appear in two forms along the avenue. The sphinxes near the Karnack Temple have ram heads called criosphinxes, while the sphinxes near the Luxor Temple have human heads. The two different forms of the sandstone carvings represent two different aspects of the god Amon. In the form of the criosphinx, Amon represents the animal vitality of man and the sweltering force of the summer sun. When in the form of a human-headed sphinx, Amon represents the content mental capacity of humanity and the calm satisfactory climate of the winter sun.
Design and placement of the Luxor and Karnack temples is such that the architecture mimics the range of the ecliptic horizon plane by half, with large temples flanking each end of the avenue. In fact the temples mark the second have of the year that is not represented in the west. Therefore, the two temples mark equinox and winter solstice “sunrise” positions when viewed from the Palace of Malkata. Amon as a sphinx in the Avenue of Sphinxes embodies the same guardian duties as the Great Sphinx at Giza. They are both forms of Akeru and guardians of the horizon gates. The sphinxes are seen in opposition in the avenue, with the sphinxes in the west looking to the eastern horizon while the sphinxes in the east look to the western horizon. This view of opposition highlights how we should be viewing the sun from the city layout. The example of opposition defines the best perspective if one is to understand the context and intentions of the message. For example, significant solar observations of the western horizon sun-points for the first half of the year are made from Karnack Temple at times of the year between spring equinox, summer solstice, and fall equinox. Likewise, important solar observations of the eastern horizon sunrise points for the second half of the year are made from the Place of Malkata at times from fall equinox, winter solstice, and spring equinox.
Luxor’s West Bank as a viewing point is now described followed by the West Bank perspective of the East Bank temples in relation to sun positions. The entire West Bank is heavily populated with temple structures facing the Nile, the East Bank temples, and eastern horizon. To relate the importance of the western side of ancient Thebes, the Egyptians built numerous temples, chapels, and palaces in the foreground of the West Bank Mountain. There are at least thirty-three known structures to date, the most popular temple being the northern most Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, built directly against the mountain cliffs in a coved section of the mountain. The modern name for this area of the mountain is Deir el Bahari but in ancient times the area had several names. The first ancient name given to this area of the mountain cove was djeser or “holy,” which applied when only one temple occupied the location, later renamed desreti, meaning “holies,” when a second temple was built, and finally with the completion of a third temple, the area was named djeser djeseru, meaning “the holy of holies.” The largest temple (the northern temple) is commonly called Hatshepsut’s Temple after the female pharaoh who commissioned the structure. Two smaller temples inhabit the cove but are both in ruins, thought to be the unfortunate consequence of large stones falling from the mountain above. The oldest temple at Deir el Bahari is the temple of Mentuhotep II. The second temple built at Deir el Bahari was Hatshepsut’s Temple, and the third temple was commissioned by Thothmosis III. All three temples are so-called mortuary temples, where burial rituals and services for the cult of Amon and Osiris were carried out. All three temples were also built with chapel niches that burrow directly into the mountain. The mountain surrounds the temples with amazing cliffs that tower high into the sky.
Deir el Bahari faces the temples in the east and holds many royal and non-royal tombs. The tombs that are the most well-preserved, however, are located on the back side of the mountain cove in the famous wadi called the Valley of the Kings. There is also a western wadi that forks off to the west from the Valley of Kings, called Kings Valley West, that displays a couple of royal tombs and a number of unnamed burial pits. The area next to (south), of Deir el Bahari is called El Gurna. It was given this name due to the horn-shaped (Gurn-shaped) mound on the horizon west of the village. This is the same pyramidal horn of the west already discussed in relation to the horizon in the Valley of the Kings, but it is now seen from the other side of the mountain where the form of the Gurn changes to an elongated pyramid shape. The tombs of nobility are located on the eastern side of the mountain just below the elongated Gurn.
The tombs and village of the artisans is south of the Nobel’s tombs, located in a cove called Deir el Medina. The foundations of houses, the artisans’ burial sites, and the Artisan Temple are all located in this area. The southern end of the mountain has another wadi called the Valley of the Queens, a location that hosts several tombs of royal females as well as tombs of male and female children. Queens Valley is tucked in a wadi of the mountain a short distance west of a temple called Medinet Habu. The huge palace complex of Malkata flanks the southern end of the mountain, commissioned by Amonhotep III, and dedicated to the triad of Thebes, Amon, Mut and Khonsu.
Many connections are found between the Palace of Malkata and the Luxor Temple. Both temples were built by Amonhotep III and located on opposite sides of the Nile from each other. A harbor and canal east of the palace provided a direct inland waterway to the Nile and consequently, access to the temples on the East Bank. The harbor and channel are filled-in today with the silt of Nile flood waters, but the palace has recently undergone extensive excavations and restorations, bringing important information to the forefront. The palace site of Malkata is very important because the Temple of Millions of years on its northern side is the single point from which the azimuths of sunrise are observed between the Karnack Temple and Luxor Temple. Sunrise observations from Malkata witness sunrise aligning with Karnack Temple for autumnal equinox, traveling the Avenue of Sphinxes south, and then rising behind the Luxor Temple at the time of winter solstice, before turning its solar path back to Karnack Temple. Ancient Egyptians called this palace the “Palace of the Gleaming Aten” which in itself reflects the range of azimuths seen from this location with the use of the term Aten because the Aten is the image of the sun with rays of light projecting from the reference point of the sun. The name of the palace then reflects its purpose in order to house those people who are in service of the shifting solar observation.
A closer look at Malkata’s opposing temple, that of Luxor Temple, is done by using a lithograph by artist Jean Leone Gerome which provides an ancient view of the Luxor Temple from the west. Fig. 36 gives a view of the Luxor Temple that is similar to what the ancient Egyptians must have experienced. The amazing and pertinent reality is that the temple structure from this point of view appears in the image of a sacred bark. Pylons in the north rise high on the left end of the temple, with the centered pillars of the colonnade mimicking the appearance of a boat’s deck shrine. The southern end of the temple (right), also swings high forming the aft of the boat. Similarities are certainly notable between the temple’s boat shape and the boat floating on the Nile seen in fig. 36.
Between the Luxor Temple and the lithograph a likeness is certainly found suggesting a new perspective for viewing the Luxor Temple as a boat-shaped structure. These similarities also apply to the Karnack Temple. When examined closely the Karnack Temple it resembles the shape of a barge. The shape is long and flat with high pylons on each end. Again the high, pillared colonnade represents the center shrine. Both temples appear in the form of water vessels with the Luxor Temple’s colonnade laid out in a southeast-by-northwest direction, just slightly askew of true north-south, and the axial colonnade of the Karnack Temple is laid out in opposite, running southwest to northeast just slightly askew east-west. The orientation distinction between the two temples reflect the two diverse movements of the sun, the east-to-west motion represented at Karnack Temple, and the north-and-south ecliptic journey of the sun on the horizon …characterized in the Luxor Temple orientation.
Fig. 36 The Luxor Temple. (Lithograph by Jean Leon Gerome “Excursion of the Harem.”
Fig. 37 The Luxor Temple view from the Nile
Fig. 38 The Karnack Temple (Lithograph by David Roberts R.A.) view looking northwest.
Fig. 39 Perspective of the Karnack Temple from the southeast
The Luxor and Karnack temples, then, take the forms of a boat and a barge respectively. They have been deliberately situated in locations opposite the boat shapes seen on the western horizon in order to mirror the western horizon. They are also both in locations that mark significant sunrise positions when viewed from Malkata. In fact, the temples themselves are at angles that align with the sun at solstice times of the year. The long hall in the temple of Amon-Re at Karnack, as nineteenth-century astronomer-archaeologist Norman Lockyer pointed out in 1894, aligns with the summer-solstice sunset position. The temple’s long hall is at such an angle that it also aligns with winter-solstice sunrise. Following suit, the Luxor Temple has a winter-solstice sunrise alignment that occurs with the centered deck shrine when viewed west of the temple. This means that the view east of the Luxor Temple at the time of summer solstice also aligns with the Luxor Temple’s pillared colonnade hall when looking west.
Fig. 40 The sunrise alignment with the central axis of the temple
Sunrise alignment occurring with the center colonnade of the Luxor Temple near winter solstice.
Fig. 43 Luxor and Karnack Temple (right) Malkata and Hatshepsut’s Temple (left) forming a rectangle-like enclosure.
Alignments within the temples themselves are the smaller pieces of the larger picture because the axial alignment is the microcosm for the macrocosm which is presented next. What is different about the New Kingdom’s Theban temple layout when compared to the Giza Plateau layout is this; Giza has one set viewing point that connects with the three pyramids and significant sunset points. What is observed in Thebes is that there were two main viewing points, Karnack Temple in the east and the Malkata Palace in the west. The two locations both work as viewing points and set markers, and are diagonal from each other within the rectangle-shaped city complex. On-the-other-hand Hatshepsut’s Temple and Luxor Temple work strictly as solstice sun markers in relation to the cosmos. Hatshepsut’s Temple being the summer solstice sunset marker and Luxor Temple being the winter solstice sunrise marker.
Fig. 44 Map of Thebes with solar alignment line-of-sights depicted
To conclude how the observations work, the view begins with the sights seen from Karnack at the time of spring equinox when the sun sets in the small solar-boat horizon above the Malkata Palace. Sun observations are observed traveling the western horizon at consecutive setting points from spring equinox sunset until summer solstice sunset, when the sunset point aligns with Hatshepsut’s Temple and the barge horizon above it. The sun remains in the barge horizon for the five-day standstill and then begins working its way, at setting points, south along the horizon until once again the sun sets in the solar-boat horizon for autumn equinox. What has just been described is the northern loop of the solar ecliptic journey. Next, the observation point is moved diagonally to the Malkata Palace, where the sun is now monitored at sunrise points traveling between Karnak and Luxor for the next six months. Beginning with autumn equinox the sun is witnessed rising in alignment with the Karnack Temple, traveling at rising points south until it reaches the winter standstill point lifting behind the Luxor Temple for five days. The sun then travels north at rising points until it once again reaches Karnack for spring equinox sunrise. What is witnessed from Malkata is the sun traveling the southern loop of the sun’s ecliptic journey on the eastern horizon.
Karnack and Luxor Temples are the fixed markers for winter solstice and equinox sunrise when viewed from the Palace of Malkata in the west. The theory asserts that Luxor Temple is the time marker for the winter-solstice sunrise position when viewed from Malkata and Karnack Temple is the equinox sun marker when viewed from the same position. I find it ironic that the historical hotel next to the Luxor Temple is called the “Winter Palace” since the Luxor Temple marks winter solstice sunrise and perhaps this is an indication of an ancient memory that remains intact to the site location.
The theory therefore plays out differently in Luxor. What makes the Luxor location different from Giza is that sunsets from Karnack Temple were observed on the western horizon traveling between the two boat-shaped horizons and covering the northern half of the ecliptic range. The viewing position would then change to the Palace of Malkata where the sun’s rising points were observed for the southern half of the ecliptic range. In this way the observations were balanced, giving equal attention to both sunset and sunrise. On a more practical note the observer/observers, (perhaps being pharaoh himself) would spend the blistering hot summer months on the cooler east bank of the Nile in veneration of sunsets, and the cool months of the year would be spent near the sun baked mountain in the west holding in the highest regard sunrise.
Luxor Temple and Mer-Ka-Ba Translation
As mentioned before the Karnak Temple is located opposite the barge-shaped horizon and celebrates and depicts images of the Amon-Re barge, which reflects and venerates the barge horizon in the western landscape. Following suit, the Luxor temple is located opposite from the smaller boat-shaped horizon on the southern end of the mountain, and within the Luxor Temple the bas relief of a solar-boat with the same characteristics as the solar-boat-shaped horizon which includes a pedestal cushion is seen. This particular relief reflects a reverence for the solar-boat image in the local landscape as compared in fig. 29 &30.
Fig. 45 The solar boat in the Luxor Temple with hieroglyphics
It is very important to decipher the exact message of the hieroglyphic text located next to the solar-boat image in the Luxor Temple because this image is so vital to the research. During a much-appreciated conference between me and best-selling author of Beyond Prophecies and Predictions, Moira Timms, the words began to reveal the intended message. Moira is a gifted interpreter of Egyptian symbology, her advice on the matters of translating these hieroglyphics properly is highly valued. Most of the characters, as we discussed, are compound symbols used to convey a double meaning. As with all translating, choosing the correct terms for the symbols is always controversial. Therefore, to convey the fullest message of each, all uses of the symbols are given in the break down of root terms.
To describe the bas relief of the solar-boat in the Luxor Temple, the boat is being traditionally towed on a sled over the land. In this case, one priest is pulling the rope of the solar boat and hieroglyphic determinatives are seen to the right of the solar-boat. The following is a list of sounds and possible meanings for each symbol. The hieroglyphs are read as two rows. They begin on the left and are read from top to bottom.
The priest: priest of the sacred solar boat.
The boat: solar boat, the ecliptic range, sun’s domain.
The pedestal: could be a softened form of the akhet horizon symbol or could also be a shortened (ta) symbol, used in the later dynasties to represent earth.
The sled: overall represents traveling by land, but this particular sled is seen with the diagonal slant on the end, which connects it to the ways of Ma’at (also known as the two truths of the cosmic order).
Row 1:
Symbol 1 (R): time, day, utter, speech, mouth, concerning
Symbol 2 (K): nose, face, joy, smell, fragrance, foremost
Symbol 3 (T): horizon, earth, union with
Symbol 4 (K): lord, high exulted, every, all, balance, placenta, birth
Symbol 5 (NTR): god, aspect of god, nature
Symbol 6 (nfr) or (sma): good, beautiful, unification, divine order
Row 2: (Compound symbols)
NB: plural lords
Ka or heh: soul, over self, higher self, holding
Shen: eternity, solar circuit, solar cycle, birth of the sun
Translations read as follows:
1. The priest of the sacred solar boat; based on the foundation of Ma’at that travels by land through time, concerning foremost the union with the earth’s horizon, all of god that is beautiful and all the souls who are eternal.
2. The movement of the solar boat, traveling the horizon by land concerning foremost earth’s union with the horizon, all of god that is beautiful, holding above all, the birth of the sun and solar cycles.
These translations, without a bought, relate the importance and veneration of the sun cycles. The ancient society of Egypt was so dependent on the cycles of the sun for every aspect of their agricultural success that the stability of these cycles connected to sustaining life itself on earth. On another level, the sun was the means by which travel was accomplished in the hereafter and would hold the souls of loved ones who had crossed over to join the solar boat. It was recorded that sunrise and sunset were specific times of worship. Artistic depictions show the raising of hands in admiration for the sun’s daily appearance, perhaps a gesture that even blocks the sun in order to protect the eyes from blindness. This daily practice observes the changing azimuths of the sun in relation to the horizon landscape. The priests and priestesses were separated into cults that each specialized in one particular aspect of nature, for example sunrises, sunsets, moon cycles, stars patterns and cycles, and the earthly knowledge which defines the beautiful apparitions of the world experience. Often the sons and daughters of the priests followed in the footsteps of their parents, therefore the vocation of monitoring the astral bodies and earthly phenomena involved shared wisdom of many generations. It also involved the constant reworking of fixed markers, as is seen even in ancient times in the reworking of the Karnack causeway.
Sun alignments with the temples are examples of solar-constructed architecture and show once again that astral observations were key factors in ancient Egyptian culture and construction. The boat-forms of the western horizon were duplicated in stone and can be seen in temple monuments opposite the significant horizons. The Avenue of Sphinxes that once existed intact between the Karnack and Luxor Temple mark the space of solar time. Perhaps when the avenue was whole each sphinx represented the setting and rising of each day as the sun moved along the horizons. Temples built to resemble boats, flanking each end of the avenue, symbolically heighten the intended meanings. These sun observations and temple combinations are essential to the Egyptian belief system of cosmic order of Ma’at, as-well as the Egyptian calendar and festival celebrations.
The theory suggests that the sun resting on the horizon forms an image of a solar boat. The extension of the theory suggests that the solar boat and rope are symbolic for the ecliptic range of sun positions. The boat-shaped temples with intentional sun alignments, seen from the axis of the temple, represent the microcosm of solar alignments. Relationships between the temples as viewing points and sun point observations are the macrocosm for solar movement within the ecliptic range. This temple complex was obviously built to serve the established political and religious systems and to govern the society according to Ma’at, the cosmic order and balance of the sun god in the many changing appearances the sun makes on the horizons.
In ancient Egypt there was an expression used in the text that says, “As above, so below,” which is exactly what is seen in temple and monument construction when compared to the celestial world. It is understood to mean that Egypt is a mirror of heaven and that as part of the belief system, the ancient Egyptians manifested on earth the ideas given to them from heaven. This is certainly the case here, where boat-shaped images appear on the western horizon, uniting the sun and horizons, and are recreated in temple architecture. The temples mirror the mountain with architecture that imitates nature and the temple placements and art …celebrates sunrise and sunset locations on the horizons.
