The Small Abu Simbel Temple

Small Abu Simbel Temple

It is placed to the north of the Great Abu Simble Temple, and was constructed by Ramses II to honor and  commemorate  his  beloved  wife  Nefertari and  for  Hathor,  the  Goddess  of  Love,  Music and Beauty. Although the temple is little than the great one, it is characterise by its beautiful drawings and bright colors.

The Sound and Light prove was introduced to the 2 temples.

The Sun Festival at Abu Simbel

Sun Festival at Abu Simbel

Complete more than 3000 years, one of the extended  miracles  has  been  taking  place  at  the Great Abu Simbel Temple with the shafts of the sun cutting into the sanctuary and informative the sculptures of pharaoh Ramses II and 2 statues of Ra-Hurakhti, God of the Sun, and Amun, God of Thebes on the back wall. Only the statue of Ptah, the god connected with the Underworld, remains in the dark. This phenomenon takes place in 2 large days of the year; on the dates that  mark  the  pharaoh’s  birthday  (October  21) and his investiture day in February 21.

Through that two days, thousands of tourists from all over the world come to Abu Simbel to watch this phenomenon during the the Sun Festival. The festival plan includes music performance and story about the era after Ramses II ascended the  throne  of  Egypt  in  nine  languages; Arabic, French, English, Spanish, Deutsch, Russian, Italian, Japanese, and Chinese.

The Great Abu Simbel Temple

Great Abu Simbel Temple

Façade of the Great Abu Simbel Temple is about 33 metres high and 38 meters wide. It was cut  63  meters  secret  into  the  rocks.  Four  colossal 20 metre statues of Ramses II, embodying the most important gods, decorate the façade of the Temple. Though large, the sculptors were creative in sculpture the Pharaoh’s pretty face and his  spiritual  smile  that  welcomes  the  shining sun. Previous the statues, there is a frame in which the names and titles of King Ramses II, the glorified, the born from the sun and the taken from it,  were  inscribed. Above  the  frame,  there  is  a frieze  of  spiritual  serpents,  followed  by  other frieze of baboons in a row producing their arms in the air and, supposedly, worshipping the rising sun. The catch, in the middle of the façade, is crowned by the statue of God Ra-Hurakhti. Next to and between the legs of the four colossi, there are other statues, no higher than the knees of the Pharaoh,  of  the  family  of  King  Ramses  II  (his mother, his favored chief wife Nefertari, and his sons and daughters).