Great and Small Temples of Abu Simbel one of the greatest pharaohs of Ancient Egypt. He ruled for 67 years during the 19th dynasty and spent much of the time trying to secure the borders of the kingdom. During his reign, Ramesses II embarked on an extensive building program throughout the country. Although his capital was in the Nile Delta, he did not neglect the southern border at Nubia, a land very important to the Egyptians because it was a source of gold and many other precious trade goods. He therefore built several grand temples there in order to impress upon the Nubians Egypt’s might and Egyptianize
Great and Small Temples of Abu Simbel “Mansion of Millions of Years Hewn in the Rock” as the First King’s Cupbearer Ashahebsed said. Inside the temple, statues of Ramesses II are presented alongside statues of the gods, showing the fact that he is one of them, and indeed, he is even shown as presenting offerings to himself. Both temples are rock-cut temples. The edifices are hewn into huge sandstone mounds that were already at the site. Despite the fact that the temples were carved into the sandstone mounds rather than built, they are similar in design to all Egyptian temples. For example, the façades of the Great