The Great Hypostyle Hall, Thebes.

Karnak is not one temple but a precinct built and rebuilt over two thousand years, and the Great Hypostyle Hall is its centre — 134 columns across an acre and a half, the twelve along the central aisle standing 21 metres. Sety I cut the northern reliefs in raised relief, Ramesses II the southern in sunk relief, and the technique changes as you walk the length of the hall. What reads as gloom was the intent: light entered through stone grilles set high on the walls.