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
Ramesses II As well as the temples of Abu Simbel, Ramesses left other monuments to himself in Nubia. His early campaigns are illustrated on the walls of Beit el-Wali (now relocated to New Kalabsha). Other temples dedicated to Ramesses are Derr and Gerf Hussein (also relocated to New Kalabsha). The tomb of the most important consort of Ramesses was discovered by Ernesto Schiaparelli in 1904. Although it had been looted in ancient times, the tomb of Nefertari is extremely important, because its magnificent wall painting decoration is regarded as one of the greatest achievements of ancient Egyptian art. A flight of steps