The Temples at Abu Simbel

Temple of Ramses II

Temple of Ramses II

Sound & Light Show

(Tour arranged and organised by Cecelia and Lindy at Egypt & Beyond.)

These truly amazing temples were built at the command of the greatest of all the temple builders of Ancient Egypt - Rameses II, the Great (ca.1290-1224BCE) It was one of seven rock cut temples that he had built far down south, in the land then called Nubia. Because of its remote location the temple, was unknown to western 'antiquarians' until 1817 when the Italian explorer, Giovanni Belzoni, removed much of the sand that had collected inside and around it. In doing so, he revealed the true size of the magnificent facade. Since then, it has been studied and written about extensively and has become one of the most important and most visited of all Egyptian temples.

In the 1960s, the continued existence of this, and other archaeological sites in the region, came under threat because of the decision to replace the Aswan dam with the present High Dam, the construction of which would have seen these monuments vanish under the waters of the new dam. A successful international initiative was launched to save the monuments and with the funds collected, the temples of Rameses II and his wife Nefertari were cut from the rock and reassembled on higher ground. This amazing engineering feat took just five years to complete.

The decision was made not to replace or repair broken statues, and the temples were reassembled exactly as they were found in the 19th century. The main temple is a solar temple that is dedicated to the sun god, Ra-Harakhte, and as such is aligned to the east to face the rising sun.

The Temple of Rameses II

The massive facade of the temple shows four huge seated figures of the Pharaoh - two on either side of the entrance - each twenty-one metres tall. Under the Pharaoh's feet, you can see carved bound figures representing the borderland enemies of Egypt - Nubia and Asia. At his feet stand the figures of the Great Royal wife Nefertari, his mother Muttuya as well as some of his many children. Looking upwards to above the entrance, you'll see the figure of the sun god Ra (note that he is flanked by images of the worshipping Pharaoh). Looking up right to the very top of the facade, you can see another solar feature - a frieze of baboons, who were regarded as symbolic greeters of the sun.

Before entering the temple, have a look at the sides of the thrones. There are depictions of the Nile god Hapy performing the ritual of tying together the lotus and papyrus which represent Upper and Lower Egypt.

A stela close by (which I was fascinated to see!) records Rameses II's diplomatic marriage to a daughter of the Hittite king, Hattusilis III; it records her arrival in Egypt and tells that she was escorted by the Egyptian and Hittite armies. Can you imagine what a spectacle that must have been! Moving into the temple itself, you find yourself in a pillared hall, the main aisle of which is lined with 'attached' figures of the Pharaoh as Osiris, the god of the Underworld. The walls of this hall are decorated with many beautiful reliefs. Some to watch out for include depictions of Rameses in battle, including the famous battle of Kadesh that took place early in his reign and was fought against the Hittites. Also included here are depictions of Rameses and eight of his sons smiting Nubians and Hittites in front of the god Amun-Re; not to be outdone, eight of his daughters are shown doing the same thing but this time in front of the god Ra-Harakhte!

On the opposite wall are other battle scenes, this time against the Nubians, Libyans and Syrians; these include reliefs of him presenting prisoners to the gods of Egypt. In the main aisle, look upward to the ceiling - this has representations of one of the two tutelary goddesses of Ancient Egypt, Nekh-bet the vulture goddess of Upper Egypt, her wings outstretched.

Going through this hall you enter a smaller pillared hall with scenes of the Pharaoh and the Great Royal Wife Nefertari making ritual offering to several of the gods.

At the end of the hall is a transverse vestibule and sanctuary. This latter holds the remains of a small altar and at the end of this closed-off area are seated four life-size figures - three of them are gods; Ptah, Amun-Ra and Ra-Harakhty, the fourth figure is Rameses II himself as god/king. Every year, in February and October, the sun shines directly through the temple and lights up the four figures for about twenty minutes. Because of careful orientation of the temple when it was relocated, this still happens, although one day later than at its original site. Small rooms off this area are believed to have held cultic items that would have been used in the temple rituals.

The Temple of Nefertari

Leaving Rameses temple, one goes 'next door' as it were, to a smaller temple built for the Great Royal Wife - 'Nefertari the King's Beloved' - it's dedicated to Nefertari and the cow-headed goddess Hat-hor. On the facade of this temple are six huge standing figures, about ten metres high; four of Rameses II and two of Nefertari. Nefertari is believed to have been the favourite wife of the Pharaoh and this would seem to be borne out by the size of the statues of her on her temple facade; queens were usually shown as very small figures, hardly higher than their husband's knees as can be seen at Rameses' temple. In the temple too she is depicted as participating in divine rituals as an equal of the Pharaoh - a clear indication of her importance in the eyes of her husband.

A frieze of rearing cobras above the entrance represents the second tutelary goddess of Ancient Egypt, Wadjet the cobra, called the Green One, of Lower Egypt.

This temple is smaller and has only one pillared hall - some of the features here are carved Hat-hor figures on the sides which face the centre of the hall. A small transverse vestibule has a room at each end. Off this is a small inner chamber that shows the royal couple presenting offerings to the gods.

Other scenes show Nefertari worshipping before Hat-hor and Mut (Moot) - the consort of the great state god Amun-Ra. Her tomb in the Valley of the Queens is most beautifully and colourfully decorated, but the paintings are under threat from the many visitors and the tomb is now closed to the public for the foreseeable future.

The reason for Rameses II building these temples in what was even in his time a remote spot, is thought to have been a warning message or even a proclamation of power to the Nubians to the south. One can imagine that any boat coming up-river from the south and seeing these gigantic temples would have been left in no doubt as to the might of the Egyptian Pharaoh Rameses II, the Great.

Alas, the life of even so mighty a Pharaoh as Rameses had to end and he died in ca.1224BCE, one of the longest reigning Pharaohs ever; his mummy was found amongst those in the 'mummy cache' discovered at Deir el Bahri in 1881 and is on view in the 'old' mummy room at the Cairo Museum.

Today a visit to Abu Simbel is still an awesome experience heightened by the truly wonderful 'Sound & Light' show at night. The seating area has power points where one may plug in the headphones provided by the organisers and listen to the narration; the narration is in several languages, one being English. This is when the magic starts - seated under a dark desert sky lit only by millions of stars, you listen to the sonorous tones of the narrator telling the story of the lives of Rameses and his queen, you see scenes from his life reflected on the magnificent temple façade, while lights play across the massive statues - it all makes for an intensely moving, magical and utterly unforgettable experience.

To find out how you can visit these fascinating sites, please contact us on +27 11 678 4777 or +27 11 478 2884 or email us on: info@egyptandbeyond.co.za.

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