“Whose statue is that?” I asked Ahmed, our guide.
“That is Ramses.” He answered.
“What about that one?” I asked.
“That also is Ramses.” He answered again.
This is a scene that would repeat itself all over Egypt. You can find statues of other Pharaohs, if you look for them, but wherever you will go, you will find a statue of Ramses the Great (1303–1213).
Far in the south of Egypt (Upper Egypt, as they call it, because the Nile flows north toward the Mediterranean Sea), about 15 miles from the Sudanese border, you come to Abu Simbel. This placed used to mark the end of Egyptian rule. People would come from the south and enter Egyptian land at this place.
In order to show upstart Kushites and Nubians who was boss, Ramses the Great built a temple. He carved this temple into a mountain. At the front of the temple, there are four 70 foot stone carved figures of Pharaohs. “Who are these?” I asked our guide, also named Ahmed, but a different Ahmed than the first.
“They are all Ramses.” He said.
When you enter the temple, you find smaller but still tall statues of Pharaohs. “And who are these?” I asked.
“All of them are Ramses.” Said Ahmed. It’s as if Theodore Roosevelt had overseen the construction of Mount Rushmore and commissioned four carvings of himself. Definitely would give you a different feeling, wouldn’t it? Continue reading “Ramses the Great”