Abu Simbel - Monument to a Pharaoh
by Mark Tisdale
Title
Abu Simbel - Monument to a Pharaoh
Artist
Mark Tisdale
Medium
Photograph - Black And White Photo
Description
I wonder how many archaeological sites are symbolic of modern engineering twice over? Abu Simbel, one of the Nubian Monuments in southern Egypt would have such a claim. Two thousand years ago, ancient Egyptians carved this temple as a monument to Ramses The Great. It was carved from the face of mountains that face Egypt's neighbors, an epic reminder of the power of the pharaoh.
Carved from solid rock two thousand years ago, but the site was threatened by the second dam at Aswan in modern times. Modern day engineers worked to carve the temple into sections that could be moved and reassembled on higher ground.
And as you can tell from the missing statue (which was destroyed centuries ago in an earthquake), they have maintained the ruined state of the temple.
The history is amazing, but nothing compares to standing before those colossal statues of a long gone ruler of Egypt. Truly an amazing experience and this is one of the images that I feel captures that feeling of this amazing historic wonder of ancient Egypt.
Uploaded
January 12th, 2013
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