The Forecourt or Sun Court of Ramses II :-
The Forecourt of Ramses II, which we now enter, need not dating us long
. Its chief significance to us is an illustration of the degeneration of
architectural conceptions and forms within the comparatively short space of a
century .
The papyrus-bud columns which surround it are supposed to represent the
same thing as those which surround the Forecourt of Amenhotep III, and the
granite columns of the little shrine of Tuthmosis III .
It is true that they have not quite reached the same stage of degeneracy
as the bloated columns of Madinet Habu ; but the decay of the tradition which
was perfectly intelligible in the 18th dynasty is sadly manifest .
The columns of Ramses have lost all resemblance to the original natural
form of which they are supposed to be a conventionalization, and are like
nothing that is in heaven above, or earth beneath, or in the water under the
earth .
colossus of Ramses II :-
As we enter from the colonnade, a granite colossus of Ramses II sits on
either hand .
Note, on the throne of the right-hand, which is also the less mutilated
of the two, the representation of the two Nile Gods binding together the lotus
and papyrus plants, in symbol of the union of the Two Lands, Upper and Lower
Egypt .
And against the right leg of the same colossus we can see the fine
figure of Queen Nefertari, the wife of Ramses .
The colossi of Ramses in granite, placed in the inter-columnar spaces of
the front row of columns on the eastern side of the court, are impressive ( one
of them, at least, usurped from Amenhotep III ) .
The reliefs on the walls behind the east columns show Ramses in the
presence of the gods .
On the west side of the court, the six colossi in the inter-columnar
spaces are more damaged . On the walls behind, there is a representation of a
religious procession which is of some interest, we will see the pylon of Luxor
Temple is represented with its colossi and flagstaves .
And towards it walk 17 of the 111 sons of Ramses, followed by nobles
leading fat bulls, gaily bedecked for sacrifice .
The chapel of Tuthmosis III :-
The chapels of Amûn, Mût and Khonsu . The small shrine was built during
the reigns of Tuthmosis III and Hatshepsut . It consists of three contiguous
deep shrines for the barques of the three deities, preceded by a porch with four
clustered papyrus-bud columns . The
eastern one was dedicated for Khonsu, the middle on is for Amûn and the western one is for
Mût .
The reliefs in the chapel of Tuthmosis III, in the north-western angle
of the court, are of Ramses II, and of no particular interest ; but the
beautiful granite columns which stand in front of them make, as we have seen,
the most effective contrast with the clumsy work of Ramses II, in the midst of
which they are placed .
Mosque of Abu El-haggag :-
The court is still blocked, but otherwise it has been cleared, so far as
regards its north-east portion, by the Mosque Abu El-Haggag ; still adorns the
forecourt of Ramses II, who was built in Ayyubid
era ( 1286 AD ), his architectural form looks like the old Fatimid mosques, and
its entrance is 12 m in height .
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