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| This is the Great Temple of Abu Simbel. The
temple was cut into rock in the 13th century B.C. by the famous pharaoh
Ramses II in honour of himself and the triad Amon-Ra, Ptah and Ra-Harakhte.
Together with a smaller temple dedicated to Ramses' wife Nefertari and
the goddess Hathor, it lay strategically in a bend of the river Nile overlooking
the plains to the south as an impressive monument of Egypt's might. As
such it must have served to impress people coming from the south, possibly
to scare anyone thinking of invading the land of Egypt.
The temple's strategical position proved unfortunate for its placement right at the bank of the Nile, because the building of a new dam in the Nile in the 1960s caused the water to rise to its feet, and threatened to eventually drown the great monument. During a great international rescue campaign headed by UNESCO between 1963 and 1967 the temple was moved to a higher and safe location. The front of the temple is dominated by four gigantic statues of the great pharaoh himself. The colossi of the king, wearing the characteristic nemes headcloth and double crown (of upper and lower Egypt), are each 20 metres high, while the facade is more than 35 metres wide and 30 metres high. The king is accompanied by some of his wives, sons and daughters who appear in much smaller size beside his legs. Right above the entrance stands a figure of the god Re-Harakhte in a small niche. The top of the facade is crowned by a row of baboons. The central entrance leads into a large hall with massive pillars fronted by Osiris figures of the king. The temple's orientation is arranged in such a way that twice every year on 22 February and 22 October the earliest sun-rays shine on the back wall of the innermost chamber, thus illuminating the statues of the four gods seated there.
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