The Great Templeالمعبد الكبير

Built to Awe

Cut into the cliff face over roughly 20 years, the Great Temple was Ramesses II's statement of power at Egypt's southern frontier, facing Nubia. Its façade is dominated by four seated colossi of the pharaoh, each around 20 metres tall, flanked by smaller statues of his family at his feet.

Inside the Temple

Beyond the entrance, a hall lined with Osirid statues of Ramesses leads deep into the mountain toward the temple's inner sanctuary, where statues of four gods — including a deified Ramesses himself — sit in near-total darkness for most of the year.

• Façade height: around 33 metres, with the four colossi as its centerpiece.
• Depth into the cliff: roughly 63 metres from entrance to inner sanctuary.
• Relief carvings: scenes from the Battle of Kadesh line the great hall's walls.