architecture: Egypt passageway leading to a terrace Inside, at the upper end, was a gate that led to a paved courtyard 250 feet across and 330 feet long Additionally, the temple had a large rectangular podium that was exposed to the sun Its sides sloped inward, and the structure was built out of limestone on a base of granite On top of the podium was a limestone obelisk, or a tapered pillar with a pyramid at the top (similar to the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.) This obelisk symbolized the sun god An immense alabaster altar, built of a single huge circular block of stone, lay to the east of the obelisk A small chapel was located at the base of the obelisk At the sides of the entrance were two large basins and two stela (stone slab or pillar) made of granite OBELISKS Obelisks, or tall tapered columns with pyramid-shaped caps, were a common feature of ancient Egyptian architecture The 59 temple at Heliopolis began the trend, and most temples built afterward featured obelisks, typically one on either side of a temple gate In some cases, a single obelisk, representing the creative power of the sun, was built in the center of a temple Most weighed hundreds of tons, and little is known about how they were transported or put in place The largest surviving obelisk, weighing 1,000 tons, was never completed and still lies in the quarry near Aswān THE TEMPLE AT KARNAK The world largest religious structure is the temple at Karnak, located just north of the city of Luxor Karnak is a modern name; at the time of its construction it was called Ipet-sut, a name that means “The Most Sacred of Places.” While much of the temple is damaged, parts of it remain intact, and it is one of the most popular tourist sites in Egypt It is possible that the Temple of Ptah in Memphis was larger still, and numer- Facade of the Great Temple of Abu Simbel (Courtesy of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago)