Karnak Temple Complex

The Karnak Temple Complex, also known as Karnak, is a vast collection of decayed temples, pylons, chapels, and other structures near Luxor, Egypt. The complex was built during the reign of Senusret I (reigned 1971-1926 BCE) in the Middle Kingdom (around 2000-1700 BCE) and continued into the Ptolemaic Kingdom (305-30 BCE), with the majority of the extant buildings dating from the New Kingdom. The area surrounding Karnak was the ancient Egyptian Ipet-isut ("The Most Selected of Places") and the center of worship for the 18th Dynastic Theban Triad, which was led by the god Amun. It is part of the monumental city of Thebes and, along with the rest of the city, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979. The Karnak complex is named after the nearby and partly surrounded modern village of El-Karnak, which is located 2.5 kilometers (1.6 miles) north of Luxor.