Façade of the Great Temple of Rameses II at Abu Simbel
The Great Rock Temple of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel in Nubia, southern Egypt, was dedicated to the cult of Amun, Ra-Horakhty, Ptah and the deified pharaoh and was built to commemorate the victory at the Battle of Qadesh. It is carved into the rock to a depth of 60 metres and includes two pillared halls, storerooms and a sanctuary. The façade is pillar-like and is dominated by the four 22-metre-high colossal statues of Ramesses II, which show the pharaoh wearing the nemes headdress, the crown of Upper and Lower Egypt and the uraeus. The statues to the south (left) are called 'Ramesses, sun of kings' and 'ruler of the two lands', those to the north (right) 'Ramesses beloved of Amun' and 'beloved of Atum'. On either side of the statues are smaller representations of the king's mother, Nefertari and her sons. Above the entrance the pharaoh is depicted bringing offerings to Ra. Between 1964 and 1968, the temple, together with a smaller one for Queen Nefertari, was dismantled in individual blocks and rebuilt on a nearby artificial rise set on a domed structure to save it from the waters of Lake Nasser.
