Thunder in Stone – Abu Simbel

If Egypt was music, this would be its crescendo.

This was Day 3 of the Egypt tripWe had checked into the Nile Cruise the previous night, and technically this was just a pitstop before the cruise could set sail. This village with a meagre ~2000 inhabitants is famous only for the grand historic site which is perched atop a hill and overlooking the Nile. Carved into a mountainside of sandstone, the twin temples of Ramsses II and Nefertari, facing the sun like titans – a declaration of divine authority that still inspires awe. The fact that they were moved stone by stone to escape the rising Nile makes them a miracle twice over.

The majestic Abu Simbel temples are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and as history goes, were originally built to commemmorate King Ramsses’ victory in the Battle of Kadesh, one dedicated to King Ramsses the 2nd and the second one to his wife Queen Nefertati.

Temple of Ramsses the 2nd

The first and the bigger temple known as the Temple of Ramsses was dedicated to the Sun Gods Amun, Ra-Horakhty and Ptah, and the Great King Ramesses 2nd himself. The entrance to the temple is flanked by 4 colossal statues on the facade, representing King Ramesses 2nd seated on his throne and wearing the double crown of Egypt. Next to his legs are smaller statues depicting his beautiful wife Nefertari, his mother and his kids.

There are multiple rooms in the temple, all dedicated to King Ramsses and his family. The walls are all covered with inscriptions mostly depicting scenes from the Battle of Kadesh.

The innermost room is the sanctum sanctorum. This temple is aligned with the sun, so twice a year the sun shines in its deepest recesses in the sanctuary to illuminate a statue of Ramses and the gods to which the temple is dedicated. Just imagine this – the light from the far off horizon entering the sanctuary to illuminate the gods inside – till today just as it was designed to be thousands of years ago. This was divine engineering, storytelling in stone, and ego on an eternal scale.

 The ancient architects positioned the temple so that sunlight reached the room on February 22, the anniversary of his accession to the throne and on his birthday, October 22. On these two dates, the sun rises and illuminates the temple corridor, and three of the four statues in the sanctuary. The first three statues are of Pharaoh Ramses II, Ra (the god of sun), and Ammon (the king of the gods). Ramsses was included with the gods because, like the other pharaohs, he considered himself a god. The fourth statue remains in darkness because it represents Ptah, the god of darkness. If we’re to believe historians and the tour guides, this statue has never seen sunlight in more than 3,200 years.

The Abu Simbel Sun Festival takes place on February 22nd and October 22nd of every year to much fanfare with several thousand people gathering early in the morning to see this testament to the knowledge and skill that the ancient Egyptians possess in order to align the temple so perfectly.

Temple of Queen Nefertari

The second smaller temple of Abu Simbel is known as the Temple of Queen Nefertari, which was built to honour the queen and dedicated to Goddess Hathor, the goddess of love and music. The rock cut facade of the temple has 6 standing colossal statues representing King Ramesses 2nd and Queen Nefertari. The king can be seen wearing the white crown of Upper Egypt and the double crown.

Abu Simbel stood like a thunderclap in the desert, impossibly grand and heartbreakingly eternal.