That man Burckhart (the Swiss explorer who refound Petra) was the first 'modern' European to discover Abu Simbel in 1813 - completely covered in sand. Lack of treasures inside resulted in a distinct lack of interest and further investigation! The fantastic interior murals and reliefs were obviously of little interest to this intrepid 'explorer'.
You enter the temple through a relatively small, narrow gap hewn into the rock, entering into the rock-cut Hypostyle Hall. The wall on the right hand side depicts the Battle of Qadesh (1300 BC). Rather good misinformation going on here as the imagery is of a great Egyptian victory - not true! Ramses failed to take the city.
Leave a Comment
on Aug 27, 2003
