Columns of the peristyle sun court of Amenhotep III, Luxor, Egypt

"Exiting the colonnade through the gateway at its southern end, visitors enter the large peristyle sun court of Amenhotep III. Subsidiary doorways located near three of its corners offer alternative access. The sun court was not part of the core temple originally planned and executed by Amenhotep III, which stood on the stone platform or base immediately to the south. Rather, the sun court was the core temple's first northward extension." [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.