Abu Simbel: The Temples of Ramesses and the Light That Returns
Abu Simbel sits at the southern frontier of ancient Egypt, carved directly into the sandstone cliff of a Nubian mountainside on the orders of Ramesses II (r. 1279-1213 BCE) — the longest-reigning and most architecturally prolific pharaoh in Egyptian history. Two temples: the Great Temple, whose four 20-meter colossal statues of Ramesses face the Nile, and the Small Temple, dedicated to the goddess Hathor and to Nefertari, Ramesses's favorite wife — the only Egyptian temple dedicated to a queen, whom Ramesses caused to be depicted at the same scale as the gods, an extraordinary theological statement. The temples were built with an astronomical precision that Ramesses's architects sustained for three thousand years: twice a year, on February 22 and October 22 (Ramesses's birthday and coronation day, according to some scholars), the rising sun penetrates the full length of the 65-meter sanctuary and illuminates the four statues at its inner sanctum — all except Ptah, god of th...