Imagine a long line of courts, gateways, and halls; here and there an
obelisk rising above the ruins, and shutting off the view of the forest
of columns!
This mass of ruins, some lying in huge heaps of stone, others perfect
and pointed as when they were first built, is approached on every side
by avenues and gateways of colossal grandeur.
The temple originally covered an area of two hundred and seventy acres,
inclosed within a wall of brick. Parts of this wall are still visible,
while the rest lies crumbled and broken.
It is difficult to realize the grand appearance of the thirty rows of
stone columns standing within the wall. Some of them that are still
perfect, are capped with enormous monolith capitals, and it is said that
one hundred men could stand on one of them without crowding.
The hall itself is four hundred and twenty-two feet long by one hundred
and sixty-five feet broad. The stones of the ceiling are supported by
one hundred and thirty-four columns, which are still standing, and of
which the largest measures ten feet in diameter, and more than
seventy-two feet in height. They are covered with carvings and
paintings whose colors are still bright, even after a lapse of forty
centuries.
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