Ramesses colossi
Four giants, twenty metres high.
Chabe01 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Roland Unger — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Khalil aswan — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Gary Todd from Xinzheng, China — CC0 · Cecioka — CC BY-SA 4.0
One of the greatest monuments of ancient Egypt: two temples carved into a sandstone mountain on the shore of Lake Nasser near the Sudanese border by Pharaoh Ramesses II in the thirteenth century BC. The facade of the Great Temple is fronted by four colossal seated statues of Ramesses, each about twenty metres high, with smaller figures of his wife Nefertari and his children at his feet. The Small Temple is dedicated to the goddess Hathor and Queen Nefertari, fronted by six standing statues of the king and queen at almost equal size, rare in Egyptian art. Inside both temples are rock-cut halls with painted reliefs, the best known showing the Battle of Kadesh. In the 1960s, when the High Dam threatened to submerge them, the temples were cut into more than a thousand blocks and moved to higher ground in one of the greatest archaeological rescues in history. Twice a year, on 22 February and 22 October, the rising sun sends its rays deep into the Great Temple to light the statues in the sanctuary. A foreign visitor's ticket costs about seven hundred and fifty Egyptian pounds according to the ministry list, a little more on the official booking portal, and more on the two sun-alignment days. Visitors reach it by road from Aswan in about three and a half hours, or by a short flight.
Four giants, twenty metres high.
The queen at the king's scale.
Moved block by block.
Abu Simbel, on the west bank of Lake Nasser, about 280 km south of Aswan
By road from Aswan in about three and a half hours by car or tour bus leaving before dawn, or by a short flight from Aswan; most people make it a full-day return trip.
On the mornings of 22 February and 22 October the sun's rays reach deep into the Great Temple and light the statues in the sanctuary; the site is very crowded on those days and tickets cost more.