Characteristics of Ancient Egyptian Architecture
The characteristics of Pharaonic architecture in ancient Egypt formed the foundations of architecture in the ancient world, and also modern; the Egyptian civilization, which is considered the greatest in the world, came with all forms of progress, and the renaissance that appears in most countries currently since more than 7000 thousand years BC.
Ancient Egyptian architecture was famous for its special style, which was greatly influenced by the geographical nature of the country, the geological nature, and the climate as well, and in addition, the most important factors influencing ancient Egyptian architecture are the religious aspect of the Egyptians since the dawn of history.
The influence of Egyptian architecture on these factors was evident in the walls that were built diagonally inward, just as many of the most important buildings of the pharaohs appeared, such as pyramids and terraces, in addition to the ancient Egyptian use of bulbs, papyrus stems, palm trunks, as well as straw and the formation of strands of it in the walls in what is known as Egyptian botanical architecture.
The most prominent signs of ancient Egyptian architecture are the huge sizes of the various buildings, and the large thickness of the external walls that gradually decrease as we go upwards; the ancient Egyptians were keen to make the surface vertical from the inside, and inclined from the outside; which enhanced the strength of the walls, and led to their stability until now; this is explained by the many earthquakes that occurred in ancient Egypt and their keenness to avoid their damage, according to the opinions of some historians.
As for the temples of the Old Kingdom and the Middle Kingdom, most of them were destroyed and only a few remained, and they were niches in which the deity lived and kept next to him his tools of worship, and all the precious relics and tools he owned.
The most famous temples of the Old Kingdom is the temple of the sun god, which was built by King “Nei Osr Ra” of the Fifth Dynasty in Abu Jarab, near Abusir currently, in addition to the pyramids on the Giza plateau, which showed us how beautiful the temples were in the era of the Old Kingdom, and how their design and shape were.
These temples were characterized by being very close to the pyramids, which were the tombs of the kings of the ancient state, in order to ensure the continuation of offerings in the name of the idol for the dead, and a road called the ascending road was paved with stones, connecting these temples to the pyramid.
Temple architecture in the Middle Kingdom took a “very big” leap of development, just like the rest of the arts in that period, which was characterized by complete stability.
They were also huge and beautiful temples, decorating all the walls with inscriptions and paintings colored in wonderful colors, and our evidence of these great obelisks that were erected in front of these temples, which indicate the extent of their magnificence and size.
The most important characteristic of the Middle Kingdom is the spread of funerary temples, and among the most important of these temples are the temples built by the kings of Amenemhet and Senusret in the Karnak temple in honor of the god Amun, which was the nucleus of the buildings that the kings competed after them in building them in this area.
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