The Festival Hall of Thutmose III (or Akh-menu – "the most glorious of monuments"), is located at the heart of the Precinct of Amun-Re, in the Karnak Temple Complex

Karnak

The Karnak Temple Complex—usually called Karnak—comprises a vast mix of decayed temples, chapels, pylons, and other buildings, notably the Great Temple of Amun and a massive structure begun by Pharaoh Ramses II . Sacred Lake is part of the site as well. It is located near Luxor, some...

, in modern Luxor

Luxor

Luxor is a city in Upper Egypt and the capital of Luxor Governorate. The population numbers 487,896 , with an area of approximately . As the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of Thebes, Luxor has frequently been characterized as the "world's greatest open air museum", as the ruins of the temple...

, Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

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Located at the end of the Middle Kingdom court, with its axis at right-angles to the main east-west axis of the temple, it was originally built to celebrate the jubilee (Hed-Sed

Sed festival

The Sed festival was an ancient Egyptian ceremony that celebrated the continued rule of a pharaoh...

) of Thutmose III

Thutmose III

Thutmose III was the sixth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. During the first twenty-two years of Thutmose's reign he was co-regent with his stepmother, Hatshepsut, who was named the pharaoh...

, and later became used as part of the annual Opet Festival

Opet Festival

The Beautiful Feast of Opet was an Ancient Egyptian festival, celebrated annually in Thebes, during the New Kingdom period and later....

. It is seemingly decorated to echo a huge tent shrine, complete with awnings and tent poles. In this temple, the Karnak king list

Karnak king list

The Karnak king list was located in the southwest corner of the Akh-Menu Hall. Composed during the reign of Thutmose III, it lists sixty-one kings beginning with Sneferu from Egypt's Old Kingdom...

, shows Thutmose III with some of the earlier kings that built parts of the temple complex.

Layout

Built at the eastern end of Karnak's main axis, and enclosed in its own walls, this building is little understood and its exact purpose is still unclear. It consists of three main parts, a suite of rooms dedicated to Sokar to the south-east, a solar complex to the north-east and the festival hall itself, from which the other areas of the building can be reached. This is known as the 'Hry-ib', or that which is at the heart of it. The only original entrance was in the south-west corner. The walls contain the Botanical garden of Thutmosis III

Botanical garden of Thutmosis III

The Botanical garden of Thutmose III is an artistic representation, executed with a remarkable attention to detail, fauna and especially flora of the Egyptian empire at its peak. The reliefs are located on the walls of the room next to the Festival Hall of Thutmose III, in the Precinct of Amun-Re,...

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Main hall

In a small room off of the main hall, there is a room referred to as the Chamber of Ancestors, where Thutmose III is shown making offerings to his 61 ancestors. The originals of these were removed and are now located in the Louvre

Louvre

The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...

 in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

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