Karnak / Karnak Temple Complex is the ruins of temples, columns and other buildings, especially the Great Temple of Amen and the edifice built by Pharaoh Ramses II (ca. 1391-1351 BC), located near Luxor, about 500 miles south of Cairo , Egypt.
In the year 323 AD, Constantine the Great recognized Christianity in 356 and ordered closure of all pagan temples. Karnak at that time almost completely abandoned, and Christian churches were founded near the ruins.
The area around the ancient Egyptian Karnak is Ipet-isut ("Most Chosen Place") and the main place of worship of the eighteenth dynasty Theban Triad with the god Amun as its head. This is part of the monumental city of Thebes. Karnak complex takes its name from nearby, and partly surrounded by, the modern village of el-Karnak, about 2.5 km north of Luxor.
