Abu Simbel Temples

Abu Simbel is a monumental rock site on the west bank of the Nile, where two temples were carved during the reign of Ramesses II, around 1279–1213 BC. The Great Temple is dedicated to the pharaoh and the gods Amun, Ra-Horakhty, and Ptah. Its entrance is guarded by four colossal seated statues of Ramesses II, each about 20 meters high and wearing the double crown of Egypt. Reliefs covering the interior halls depict ritual and military scenes, including the famous Battle of Kadesh. The smaller temple is dedicated to Queen Nefertari Meritmut and the goddess Hathor. Six ten-meter figures of the pharaoh and his wife flank its entrance. The complex stands in Nubia, 285 km south of Aswan near the modern Egyptian-Sudanese border. In the 1960s, construction of the Aswan High Dam threatened to submerge the temples. To save them, Abu Simbel was cut into blocks weighing up to 30 tons, moved to higher ground, and reassembled. The temples are now part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It is said that the walls of the Abu Simbel temples once produced sounds of their own. Wind moved through cracks in the stone, making it seem as though goddesses were mourning lost sons—some heard weeping, others quiet singing. When the cracks were sealed, the sounds disappeared, leaving only the stone behind.