Great and Small Temples of Abu Simbel flanking the central aisle. The sanctuary contains four statues representing the four gods the temple is dedicated to; Ptah, Amun-Re, Ramesses II and Re-Horakhty. Each god is the patron god of a different powerful city of Ancient Egypt: Ptah was worshipped in Memphis, Amun-Re is associated with Thebes, Ramesses II would represent his own capital of Pi Ramesses in the delta and Re-Horakhty was the patron god of Heliopolis. The Great Temple of Abu Simbel was built so that at certain times of the year, the sun shines directly through the temple into the sanctuary. Like most Egyptian temples, it
Great and Small Temples of Abu Simbel the people of Nubia. The most famous temples are the rock-cut temples in Meha, now called Abu Simbel, at the Second Nile Cataract, the border between Lower Nubia and Upper Nubia. There are two temples, the Great Temple – dedicated to Ramesses II himself – and the smaller but no less impressive Small Temple – dedicated to his beloved chief wife Queen Nefertari. The Great Temple at Abu Simbel was dedicated to three gods: Amun, Re-Horakhty and Ptah. The Great Temple was also dedicated to Ramesses II as a deified king. The Great Temple is meant to be Ramesses II’s