When talking about the sights of Egypt, they usually remember the Pyramids of Giza, the Sphinx, well, perhaps the Valley of the Kings, a museum in Cairo … But I personally hear about this famous monument of a bygone civilization for the first time. I will correct my knowledge gap, and if you are interested, join
The cave temple in Abu Simbel is one of the most famous monuments of ancient Egyptian culture. The huge, 20-meter high statues of Pharaoh Ramses II the Great, framing the entrance to the temple, have become today the same symbols of Egypt as the pyramids and the Sphinx. The construction of cave temples was widely developed during the reign of Ramses II, but Abu Simbel surpasses all other similar structures.
The ensemble of Abu Simbel is formed by two structures: the Great Temple dedicated to Pharaoh Ramses II and three gods: Amon, Ra-Horakhta and Ptah, and the Small Temple, erected in honor of the goddess Hathor, in the image of which the wife of Ramses II Nefertari-Merenmuth is represented.
Today Abu Simbel is probably the most researched monument of Ancient Egypt. The fact is that in the late 1950s, during the construction of the Aswan hydroelectric power station, Abu Simbel found himself on the territory of the future reservoir. Various projects have been developed to save the world famous monument, including the creation of an underwater glass dome over the temple. But as a result, they decided to dismantle all the structures of the complex and move them to a higher place. This unprecedented action, carried out under the auspices of UNESCO, was carried out in four years, and specialists from fifty countries of the world took part in it.
Until the beginning of the 19th century, the Abu Simbel temples were lost in the sands of the desert. Only on March 22, 1813, the Swiss historian Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, landing on the banks of the Nile, came across the temple complex.
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The historian expressed his impressions of what he saw in his notes as follows: “Statues carved into the rock opened to my eyes. All of them were half covered with sand … However, Ramses immortalized not only himself, but also his beloved wife Nefertari. The facial features of his wife are depicted on statues at the entrance to her temple.”
Researchers, during these works, carefully studied the monument, were amazed at the enormous complex of knowledge possessed by the ancient Egyptian architects. UNESCO experts concluded that the lines of the facades of the Big and Small Temples ran parallel to cracks in the rocky ground, and thus hard rocks served as a natural support for the giant statues. When building the cave temple, the architects took into account the natural properties of the soil - the layers of sandstone in it were fastened with iron oxide, as a result of which the layers were almost not subject to destruction. In addition, iron oxide enriched the stone's palette, giving the sandstone a wide variety of shades, from red to pink to purple.
Abu Simbel was built in the second half of the New Kingdom and the beginning of the decline of ancient Egyptian art is already felt in it. Starting in the 1260s BC. e. the construction of the temple, the architects proceeded from the accepted traditions of decorating tombs, but the gigantic size of the temple gave rise to its own difficulties.
The entrance to the Great Temple of Abu Simbel is oriented to the east. The first rays of the sun, illuminating the facade, penetrate the inner space - first into the first hall, with four-sided columns-pillars and statues of the pharaoh in the image of the god Osiris, then into the second hall, and then into the sanctuary. At its farthest end were the statues of the gods and the figure of Pharaoh Ramses II. Twice a year, the rays of the rising sun fell on the statues of Ramses, Amon and Ra-Horakhte; the fourth figure, the god Ptah, was never illuminated: Ptah is the lord of the underworld, and he does not need the sun, he must remain in darkness forever.
Despite the fact that the Great Temple, in addition to the deified Pharaoh, was dedicated to three more gods, the whole idea of the construction was to exalt Ramses II by all possible means. This is especially emphasized by the facade of the temple, carved into the rock mass in the form of a traditional pylon, only of unimaginable size, where the entrance to the sanctuary is framed by four gigantic, twenty-meter high figures of Ramses II. These images of a seated pharaoh are portrait! How did the masters manage to preserve the portrait likeness with such a scale of statues carved from hard sandstone? This is amazing! And the point is not so much how similar or dissimilar the pharaoh depicted by them is to themselves - the very technique of making figures of such a scale admires. After all, it was possible to make them only by perfectly mastering the system of proportions,establishing the exact relationship between the size of the figure and each of its parts.
The enormous statues of Ramses were visible from afar to all sailing along the Nile. And when the first rays of the sun appeared over the horizon, the colossus turned dark red, sharply standing out against the background of the bluish-black shadows they cast.
The image of the great pharaoh dominates the Abu Simbel temple. Immediately outside the doors, in the first room of the temple, the visitor is greeted by eight figures of the pharaoh Ramses in the guise of the god Osiris. They stand four on each side. The walls and ceilings of the interior of the temple are covered with paintings and painted reliefs that belong to the best examples of the art of Ancient Egypt of the late period.
The reliefs of the Abu Simbel temple stand out for their dynamics, expression of movements and poses. Their authors were Theban sculptors Piai, Panefer and Khevi. The plots of the reliefs are dedicated to the life and deeds of Ramses II: here the pharaoh plunges crowds of captives - white-skinned Libyans and dark-skinned Nubians - to the feet of the gods, so he mercilessly kills them in the face of the gods … Grandiose pictures tell about the war of Ramses II with the Hittites. The relief depicting scenes of the battle of Kadesh is remarkable: the pharaoh rushing in a chariot draws his bow with a sharp movement, aiming at frightened enemies; battle is raging on the walls of the enemy fortress, defeated soldiers are falling from the walls; the shepherd hastily steals away the cattle, fearing that they will become the prey of the Egyptians. With his helplessly raised hand, the shepherd seems to be trying to shield himself from the impending danger …
A tier above is the composition "Pharaoh Ramses stands before the gods." It differs sharply from the "Battle of Kadesh" - here everything is subject to eternity. The whole composition of the picture is subordinated to complex ritual symbolism, the figures are emphatically solemn and motionless.
The small temple of Abu Simbel is dedicated to the goddess Hathor. It is much simpler and more modest than the Big, and consists of a columnar hall carved into the rocks and a sanctuary with three niches. The facade of the Small Temple is decorated with six full-length figures. Between the statues of Pharaoh Ramses II, there are statues of his wife Nefertari-Merenmuth. The sculptures stand in deep, shaded niches, which creates a play of light and shadow in the rays of the sun, enhancing the impression of these monumental figures. On one of the columns of the Small Temple, the inscription is carved: "Ramses, strong in truth, favorite of Amun, created this divine dwelling for his beloved wife Nefertari."
In the sanctuary of the Small Temple, in the central niche, there was a statue of a sacred cow, in the image of which the goddess Hathor was worshiped. Before her was depicted the pharaoh Ramses II, who was, as it were, under the protection of the goddess.
Today, saved by the efforts of all mankind from flooding, the Abu Simbel temple has become a place of pilgrimage for tourists from all over the world. This miracle of ancient Egyptian art today is at the same time a monument to the gigantic efforts made by people from fifty countries to save Abu Simbel. Well, as Egyptian President Anwar Sadat said on this occasion, "peoples are able to work miracles when they unite with good intentions."
The facade of the temples is carved into the rock, 31 meters high and 38 meters wide. The columns of the facade are four statues of the pharaoh, depicted seated on a throne. The height of these statues is about 20 meters, and the head of each of these sculptures reaches 4 meters! A baboon-shaped ornament is carved above the facade.
There are 22 monkeys in total, each under 2.5 meters tall.
Upon entering the temple, we find ourselves in a darkened hall that precedes the sanctuary. The hall has sides dimensions of 18 and 16.7 meters. In the center of the room there are 10 columns depicting the god Osiris, but with the facial features of the pharaoh Ramses II.
For almost the entire year, the premises of the temple are immersed in twilight, but twice a year (February 22 and October 22 - the birthday of the pharaoh and the day of his coronation), at dawn, the sun's rays still cut through the darkness of the temples and illuminate the statue of Ramses II himself. The sunbeam lingers on the pharaoh's face for only a few minutes, but according to the numerous tourists, whose influx Abu Simbela is experiencing these days, the stone face of the pharaoh illuminates with a smile …
Such an optical effect is possible thanks to the incredibly accurate calculations of the ancient Egyptian stargazers and priests who were engaged in the design and construction of temples 33 centuries ago. Just two days a year, just a few minutes!
Despite the fact that the Abu Simbel temple complex is not as ancient as the Egyptian pyramids, the interest from tourists in it is not at all less. For example, on the aforementioned two days a year, up to five thousand people can queue up in front of the entrance to the temple!
Although the temples of Abu Simbel stood in the sands for more than 3,000 years, in the 60s of the last century, a real threat of flooding hung over them. After the 1952 revolution, work began on the design of a second dam on the Nile River, near Aswan. The temples located on the banks of the Nile were threatened by flooding. This would lead to the destruction of the structure made of sandstone. In 1959, a campaign to save the historical heritage began. Thanks to international support, the ruins of the temples were saved by moving to a new location.
In order to avoid flooding the cultural heritage, it was decided to disassemble Abu Simbel in parts and reassemble in a new place. For this, the temples were sawn into 1036 blocks, the weight of which reached from 5 to 20 tons. All of them were numbered and moved to a new location.
Then the blocks were re-drilled, and a resinous composition was pumped into the holes, which was designed to strengthen the rocky structure of the blocks. Piece by piece, like a mosaic, the temples were reassembled and covered with a hollow reinforced concrete cap, on which a hill was poured. It turned out so harmoniously that it seemed that Abu Simbel was in this place and was all this time. The entire operation to move the temples took three years from 1965 to 68.
Researchers, studying the monument during these works, were amazed at the huge amount of knowledge that the ancient Egyptian craftsmen used to create such a grandiose structure. UNESCO experts concluded that the lines of the facades of the Big and Small Temples ran parallel to cracks in the rocky ground, and thus hard rocks served as a natural support for the giant statues. When building the cave temple, the architects took into account the natural properties of the soil - the layers of sandstone in it were fastened with iron oxide, as a result of which the layers were almost not subject to destruction. In addition, iron oxide enriched the stone's palette, giving the sandstone a wide variety of hues.
The new location of the temples is 65 meters above and 200 meters further from the river. The relocation of the Abu Simbel and Philae monuments is considered one of the largest engineering and archaeological operations.
Agree, the walls are pretty cool pictures when you consider the time they were written.
Ramses defeats enemies.