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Luxor, Luxor Governorate, Egypt — مصر (Northeast Africa)
 

Ramesses II Court

 
 
Ramesses II Court Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by James Hulse, October 10, 2024
1. Ramesses II Court Marker
Inscription.  Past the pylon gateway one passes into Ramesses II's great entrance court of papyrus bud columns and colossal statuary. The court was brilliantly designed to help support the pylons and forms a single architectural unit with them. Between the columns of the southern half of the court Ramesses II placed colossal granite and granodiorite striding statues of himself beside similar statues of pharaoh Amenhotep III, who was responsible for building the rest of the temple. In this way Ramesses II associated himself with his famous predecessor and shared responsibility for the magnificence of the temple. Just before the celebration of his first heb sed or jubilee in his thirtieth year, Ramesses II erased all of the names on Amenhotep III's statues and replaced them with his own, absorbing the earlier king's identity in the process. The northeast corner of the court is taken up by two large structures, one built atop the other. Sometime around the 6th century AD a Coptic church was constructed in this court, which later was filled in and became the platform for the later Mosque of Abu El-Haggag, which still rises above it. The original tiled entrance to the mosque can be seen adjacent to the pylon entryway high above the ancient ground level. This entrance to the mosque was used until fairly recently; excavations in the court in the 1960s necessitated the shifting of the entrance to the east, to the city side of the mosque. The functioning mosque makes Luxor Temple one of the rare sites in Egypt that has been a place of continuous worship since at least 2000 BC.

From about the same viewpoint, these historic photographs show the progressive clearance of the court.

Arabic:
فناء أعمدة رمسيس الثاني
يمر الزائر عبر بوابة الصرح إلى الفناء الكبير لرمسيس الثاني تدعمه أعمدة على هيئة براعم البردى و تماثيل ضخمة صمم الفناء بشكل رائع ليشكل مع الصرح وحدة معمارية متناسقه. وقد أقام رمسيس الثاني تماثيل ضخمة من الجرانيت والجرانوديوريت تصوره يخطو خطوة واسعة إلى جانب تماثيل ضخمة للفرعون. امنحوتب الثالث في النصف الجنوبي ليهو الأعمدة ، أخذ رمسيس الثاني على عاتقه بناء بقية المعبد وبهذه الطريقة ربط رمسيس الثاني نفسه بسلفه الشهير وشاركه مجد و عظمة هذا المعبد و قبل احتفاله باول "عيد حب سد له قام رمسيس الثاني بمحو كل أسماء أمنحوتب الثالث الموجودة على التماثيل واستبدلها باسمه، مستحوذا بهذا على هوية الملك الأسبق. يحتل الركن الشمالي الشرقي للفناء مبنيان كبيران ، بنى واحد فوق الآخر . في وقت ما حوالى القرن السادس الميلادي شيدت كنيسة قبطية في هذا الفناء ولكنها مع مرور الوقت طمرت وأصبحت منصة يعلوها مسجد أبي الحجاج ، و الذي ما زال يعلوها حتى الآن . يمكن رؤية المدخل الأصلي المؤدى للمسجد المكسو بالأجر بجوار بوابة الصرح مرتفعا فوق مستوى أرضية المعبد القديمة. هذا المدخل المؤدى إلى المسجد كان ما زال مستخدما حتى عهد قريب ؛ وقد أدت الحفائر التي تمت فى الفناء في فترة الستينات من القرن الماضى
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إلى نقل المدخل إلى الناحية الشرقية . المواجهه للمدينة. لقد جعل هذا المسجد، الذي ما زال مستخدما حتى الآن، معبد الأقصر واحدا من المواقع الفريدة في مصر الذي استمرت العبادة فيه منذ ۲۰۰۰ سنة قبل الميلاد على الأقل.

تظهر هذه الصور القديمة الماخوذة للموقع تقدم عمليات الكشف عن بهو الأعمدة من خلال اعمال الحفائر التي تمت عبر العصور.

 
Erected by Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, Egyptian Supreme Council of Anticulties, Luxor Temple Precinct, the University of Chicago and USAID.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Anthropology & Archaeology • Religion & Religious Structures. A significant historical year for this entry is 2000 BCE.
 
Location. 25° 42.011′ N, 32° 38.378′ E. Marker is in Luxor, Luxor Governorate. It is at the intersection of Mabad Al Oksor and Al Mahata on Mabad Al Oksor. The marker is located on the grounds of the Luxor Temple. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: Mabad Al Oksor, Luxor, Luxor Governorate 13625-01, Egypt. Touch for directions.

Regionally, it is in Africa, specifically in North Africa, in the Middle East, on the Red Sea, and in a coastal Mediterranean country. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Byzantine Empire, the Ottoman Empire, a British colony, and the Roman Empire.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Pylon of Ramesses II (within shouting distance of this marker); Luxor Temple / معبد الأقصر (within shouting distance of this marker); Great Colonnade Hall (within shouting distance of this marker); Avenue of Sphinxes/ طريق الكباش (within shouting distance of this marker); Hatshepsut (about 90 meters away, measured in a direct line); Amenhotep III (about 90 meters away); Tutankhamun (about 90 meters away); Pinedjem I (about 90 meters away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Luxor.
 
The view of the Ramesses II Court and Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by James Hulse, October 10, 2024
2. The view of the Ramesses II Court and Marker
Ramesses II Court image. Click for full size.
Photographed by James Hulse, October 10, 2024
3. Ramesses II Court
Ramesses II statues image. Click for full size.
Photographed by James Hulse, October 10, 2024
4. Ramesses II statues
Statue of Ramesses II image. Click for full size.
Photographed by James Hulse, October 10, 2024
5. Statue of Ramesses II
The Mosque of Abu El-Haggag at the Ramesses II Court image. Click for full size.
Photographed by James Hulse, October 10, 2024
6. The Mosque of Abu El-Haggag at the Ramesses II Court
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on November 15, 2025. It was originally submitted on November 12, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. This page has been viewed 105 times since then and 81 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on November 15, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.
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Nov. 10, 2026