The statues in front of one of the hills of the Abu Simbel temple in South Egypt

The temple of Abu Simbel is located in the southern portion of Egypt, not far from the border with Sudan. The temple was constructed by the great pharaoh Ramesses II and was meant as a display of his grandeur and also as a reminder of the power of Egypt to the visitors from the south who would be traveling on the river Nile (and the temple was located on the banks of the river). The temple is actually twin temples, both of them with large statues in front. This is the view of the larger one, the one dedicated to the pharaoh. These are huge statues, towering over the visitors who cannot be seen in this photo (you can get an idea of the size when you look at the entrance in the middle of the photo, and the statues towering over the entrance to the monument). Over a period of time, one of the statues has been lost above the waist, but if you consider that the temple and statues have been existing for around 45 centuries, you cannot help but feeling impressed.

The Mysteries of Abu Simbel: Ramesses II	View Larger Map