Seated colossus of Ramses II beside the entrance to the Eighteenth Dynasty colonnade in the Great Court of Ramses II, Luxor, Egypt

"In the court's southern half, eleven colossal statues of the king stand between the columns in the first rank, and two more colossal statues flank the entranceway to the Eighteenth Dynasty colonnade that lies beyond. Before Ramesses (Ramses) II added his obelisks, statues, pylon, and peristyle court to the front of Luxor Temple, this imposing colonnade was the first stone structured entered. Fully roofed, with fourteen gigantic columns supporting the stone slabs, the colonnade was almost completely darkened. Defacements made on the facade of the colonnade by agents of Akhenaten (Akhenaton) prove that Amenhotep III had laid its foundations and built its walls high enough to outline some of its decoration before his death. However, the colonnade was primarly decorated by Tutankhamun (Tutankhamen) and Ay, whose cartouches were subsequently erased by Haremhab (Horemheb) and recarved with its own name." [Lanny Bell, 1997: The New Kingdom 'Divine' Temple: The Example of Luxor. Temples of Ancient Egypt. Cornell University Press]. "With the village of Karnak, Luxor (Al Uqsur) is on the site of ancient Thebes (capital of the New Kingdom). When Thebes declined, Luxor remained the more heavily populated part of the ancient city and grew into a modern market town." [The J.P.Getty Fund: Thesaurus of Geographic Names]. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for American Institute of Architects, directing the Egyptian portion of the documentary on Ancient Egypt, March 1965 and September 1965.