The Temples at Abu Simbel
This is the Great Temple of Abu Simbel, with an emphasis on the word "Great". To stand in front of these huge monuments outside the temple almost gave me the willies. Again, you can't really tell how huge it is by the pictures.
These 4 statues of Rameses adorn the entrance to the Great Temple. He purposely built these statues facing the sea, so that anyone coming to shore could see just what a Big Willie he was. As you can see though, the torso of the 2nd statue had a little accident :)
On the other side of the Great Temple is a smaller temple (shown below, 2nd picture, 1st row), dedicated to his Nubian wife, Nefertari. The outside of this temple is adorned with statues of Rameses, Nefertari, and Hathor, the goddess of love and music.
Just as a side note, the island of Abu Simbel has NO shade and the average temperature is about 110 degrees. Needless to say, my clothes were stuck to my body.
Also, you should definitely check out the 4 sitting statues picture (3rd picture, 1st row) to discover the miracle of Rameses that occurs to this day. I explain in the description.
Click on a thumbnail to see the full picture and full description:
Entrance to smaller temple devoted to Nefertari
"Miracle of Rameses" inside the Great Temple
Full view of temple entrance
Me and Verneet at a distance of the Great Temple
Carving of the god Hapy at the foot of Rameses statue
2 of the Rameses statues
