We took a 17 minute flight from Aswan to Abu Simbel. The flight alone was cool, overlooking desolate sand that stretched for miles. Suddenly Lake Nassar came into view and the incredible structure of Abu Simbel was visible from the air!
We checked into the Nefertari Hotel and walked five minutes down a lonely sandy road, and we were there. Oddly enough, a whole row of security guards lined the entrance, staring sternly as we walked past. We were the only tourists. As we rounded the mountain, a gradual ascent along a sandy path led to the great monument. Majestic, massive, memorable these mighty statues of Ramses II face the lake. They were built in 1290 BC to intimidate the Nubian people, and remind them who was ruling Egypt.
One of the four statues fell as a result of an earthquake in 27 BC, knocking his upper torso to the ground. His face is in the sand, with only an ear visible. When we saw it, we both cried out, "Ozymandias!" Shelley's poem, Ozymandias, (Greek for Ramses) describes the irony of how the great king immortalized forever in magnificent statues now lies broken in the sand. "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone stand in the desert. Near them on the sand, half sunk, a shattered visage lies...on the pedestal these words appear, ‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings. Look on my works, ye mighty and despair!' Nothing beside remains. Round the decay of that colossal wreck... sands stretch far away." (Oddly enough, the shattered remains of another statue of Ramses II in the Ramesseum in Luxor is given credit for being the inspiration for Shelley's poem, but if you compare the two sights and reread the poem, there is no question that Abu Simbel is the true site of Ozymandias!)
Staring at the monument, there is much to look at. The four statues differ slightly and are surrounded by smaller statues of the queen, their children, falcons, praying baboons, and hieroglyphic inscriptions.
Yet, inside his temple was even more intriguing. Entering a huge door, we walked between eight more statues of Ramses II facing each other. Straight back, lights illuminate four statues in the inner sanctum, one of Ramses, the other three of gods, showing the importance he placed on himself, that of an equal to the gods. Once encased in gold, these statues gleamed in sunlight twice a year, as rays illuminated them on February 21st and October 21st engineered to celebrate Ramses' birthday and coronation. Incredible! Since the temple was moved to another island to escape rising waters in the 1960's, the date is off by one day.
Corridors and narrow inner rooms extend like fingers from the center, each decorated differently. Walls highlighted Ramses' achievements and companionship with the gods, with pictures of battles, chariots, offerings, and hieroglyphic inscriptions. Some of the narrow rooms had niches carved into the walls, where objects were stored for worship. Very cool place!