English: Nubian Prisoners, Abu Simbel

The rock-cut temples of Abu Simbel are one of Egypt's greatest wonders, and the most powerful testimony to the ambition of the country's greatest Pharaoh, Ramesses II. The visitor cannot fail to be impressed by the sheer spectacle of it all, there is simply nothing else quite like standing before these awe-inspiring colossi hewn from the living rock.

The temples were carved in the 19th Dynasty (c1264-44 BC) at the height of the long reign of Ramesses II (also known as Ramesses the Great) at a remote location along the Nile close to Egypt's southern border in Nubia (close to the border of modern-day Sudan), doubtless to serve as a statement of Pharaonic power to Egypt's southern neighbours. Any visitor travelling northwards would have passed these wonders and have immediately known who was in charge!

The temples also serve as Ramesses's offering to the gods, though deities are easily forgotten amidst his own omnipresent likenesses. The more famous main temple featuring the four seated colossi of Ramesses is dedicated to the gods Ptah, Amun and Ra-Horakhte, along with Ramesses deified self, the whole edifice serving as his own apotheosis. The interior of the temple culminates with (sadly mutilated) carved figures of all four, which are illuminated by the Sun on two separate days of the year.

The facade is dominated by the two pairs of Ramesses colossi, each with smaller figures of queens and princesses alongside or between their legs. The upper half of one of the great figures collapsed in antiquity, pieces of the head and crown remain lying on the ground below. In the centre within a niche above the entrance stands the falcon-headed Sun-god Ra-Harakhte (large in itself though dwarfed by Ramesses) but even the act of placing a deity at the centre of the facade serves the cult of the Pharaoh, since the god holding an User-staff and a figure of the goddess Maat enables the statue to symbolise Ramesses's coronation-name 'User-Maat-Re'.

Within the temple lies an impressive pillared hall, each column again bearing the likeness of Ramesses, this time in standing figures in the pose of Osiris. Reliefs show the king before the gods and a large chariot scene from the battle of Kadesh. Various side rooms contain more humbly finished reliefs whilst the final room is the sanctuary with the gods' images described above.

To the right of the temple of Ramesses stands the smaller temple dedicated to his favourite wife, Queen Nefertari (nominally dedicated to the goddess Hathor whose image is carved on the columns within). The facade is adorned with six standing figures in deeply-splayed niches, four more of Ramesses himself and the remaining two of Nefertari, and unusual prominence for a queen.

The temples are often best remembered for their dramatic rescue during the 1960s when the construction of the Aswan High Dam threatened to submerge them completely. Many Nubian temples were relocated at this time to save them from the rising waters, but none more famous than Abu Simbel, where the unique rock-cut nature of the monuments complicated the rescue. After several options where explored a decision was made to slice the temples into hundreds of movable sections and relocate both to higher ground immediately above their former positions. Between 1964-8 a massive international effort saw the entire rock-face removed and the components of the temples re-erected before two artificial mountains above, each supported by a hollow concrete dome. The engineering feat involved is every bit as impressive as the temples themselves.

Today Abu Simbel is one of the greatest sights of Egypt, though its remoteness requires either a flight or a long three-hour drive south of the nearest city, Aswan. It is worth every effort to reach it, and once seen it is never forgotten.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Simbel_temples