Temple of Ramesses II - page 2
the right side of the facade, with the huge
feet, statue sof the dogs, and the marriage stelae
of Ramesses II and Nefertari
We spent about half an hour just sitting on the benches
in front of the facade staring at the temple. It is
hard to comprehend the size and scope of these colossi.
What is really strange is that the feet of the statues
are large and crude compared to the faces and arms
-- and they are completely covered in grafitti, an
interesting sight in and of itself.
greek graffiti on the enormous feet
The temple is ostensibly dedicated to Re-Herakhte,
Amun-Re, and Ptah (patron deities), but it is obvious
that Ramesses, with his seated statues and mummiform
columns inside, is clearly setting himself equal with
them. Statues of Maat, Re-Herakhte, and members of
Ramesses family are also shown (smaller, obviously,
than the great Ramesses).
Looking up at the southern colossus. note the
repairs on the huge leg
Once we'd stood in the courtyard in front of the facade
for probably half an hour -- thankfully other-tourist-less,
since we were staying the night and walked up to the
temple in the late afternoon, after the last plane
had left to return to Aswan. Most visitors fly into
Abu Simbel in the morning, see the temple for a few
hours, and then fly out in the afternoon. Few people
stay in town -- the lack of hotels in town is evidence
of that -- and the huge nile cruisers tend to organize
trips midday in order ot keep their schedules. If
you can manage to fly into Aby Simbel in the afternoon
and stay the night, it is well worth the time you
can spend at the temple without any other people.
There were only a handful of people around the temple
when we showed up, and so we wandered the corridors
and chambers in almost eerie silence. It was as close
to an awe-inspiring experience as I've had.
the southern chpel to Re, now closed off; statues
of the horus falcon
There is a small terrace at the front of the temple,
lines with small statues of the gods and contaiing
small chapels at either end -- one dedicated ot the
worship of Re, the other to Thoth. The entrance to
the temple itself is between two of the enormous throned
colossi, and there are carvings of cound captives
on either side -- Nubians on one side, Asiatics on
the other.
bound libyan prisoners on the main entranceway
Above the temple facade is a cornice lined with twenty-two
baboons -- there're there, even iif I didn't manage
to get a picture! Baboons show up quite often in monuments,
they represent Thoth, god of wisdom. Thoth is usually
shown with the head of an Ibis, and is the god who
is responsible for writing and knowledge. [ more ]
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