A little more on Abu Simbel

A little more on Abu Simbel

The four colossi of the seated Pharaoh at the Great Temple are each about 70 feet high. Even though the façade is the front of a temple, there is no pylon. Egyptian temples are typically fronted with a pylon—a structure that looks two tablets connected by a lower entry gate. The mountain itself was carved to be the pylon for the temple at Abu Simbel. Inside the Great Temple there is a hall of eight columns each almost 35 feet high depicting the Pharaoh as Osiris. The walls are decorated with magnificent carvings and hieroglyphs which include a detailed rendition of the Battle of Kadesh (Qadesh) in modern Syria against the Hittites in the 13^th Century BCE . The Egyptians celebrate the battle as a great victory although it was essentially a tie but the King was rescued from almost certain death or captivity. The wall covering is reminiscent of the carvings in the British Museum showing the (neo) Assyrian victory over Israel at Lachish 600 years later. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Assyrian artists knew of Abu Simbel type carvings. As in all temples, there are several other interior rooms including a second hall and finally the Sanctum Sanctorum where only the King and Priest were permitted. This room held sculptures of the seated King and three seated Gods.

The smaller temple has four 35 foot high standing colossi- two each of King Ramses and Queen Nefertari. The great hall of the smaller temple does not have colossal statues but has beautifully decorated square columns and to, my eye, carvings more beautiful than the ones in the Great Temple. No photographs are permitted in the Temples so I can’t show the carving of Queen Nefertari being crowned by Hathor and Isis—it is delicate and beautiful. I will try to photograph it from a book.