Abu Simbel Temples Site Features

The big temple

The great temple is a hemispeos originally built on the hill of Meha. It is dedicated to the cult of Amen, Ra, Ptah and the deified Rameses II. Most of it is carved from sandstone, including the façade with four colossal statues of Rameses II seated, and other statues, bas-reliefs, and friezes. The parts not cut from rock are a peribolus and a pylon made of Nile silt bricks. Above the temple doorway, a half-round statue in a rectangular niche depicts Ra-Harakhty, recognizable by the sun disk on his head.

At sunrise, its rays illuminate the back of the sanctuary and, in the pharaoh's time, three of the four statues on February 21 and October 21, which are now illuminated on February 23 and October 23; a shift of one day in the sunrise causes the illuminated portion of the sanctuary to shift by 40 centimeters. This part of the temple is the naos. The fourth statue never lit and located at one end of the sanctuary is that of Ptah, a funerary god and god of darkness, who must always remain in shadow.5

The small temple

The small temple is a speos originally built in the hill of Ibshek. It is dedicated to the cult of Nefertari, deified as Hathor. It is carved out of rock in its entirety, including the façade, which contains six colossal statues of Rameses II and Nefertari as well as other statues, bas-reliefs, and friezes.