Bas-relief and hieroglyphics in a temple in Karnak, photographed by Maison Bonfils, circa 1867-1885. The Karnak Temple Complex comprises a vast mix of decayed temples, chapels, pylons, and other buildings. Building at the complex began during the reign of Senusret I in the Middle Kingdom and continued into the Ptolemaic period, although most of the extant buildings date from the New Kingdom. The area around Karnak was the ancient Egyptian Ipet-isut (The Most Selected of Places) and the main place of worship of the eighteenth dynasty Theban Triad with the god Amun as its head. It is part of the monumental city of Thebes. The complex is a vast open-air museum and the largest ancient religious site in the world. The key difference between Karnak and most of the other temples and sites in Egypt is the length of time over which it was developed and used. Approximately thirty pharaohs contributed to the buildings, enabling it to reach a size, complexity, and diversity not seen elsewhere. The deities represented range from some of the earliest worshiped to those worshiped much later in the history of the Ancient Egyptian culture. F矇lix Bonfils (March 8, 1831 - 1885) was a French photographer and writer who was active in the Middle East. He moved his family to Beirut in 1867 where they opened a photographic studio called "Maison Bonfils".