HISTORY OF EGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE

ABU SIMBEL No.3

Great Temple; Pronaos, seen from Hypostyle Hall.

• Inside of the Great Temple is 48m long from entrance to the Sanctuary.
  The rooms are placed along the centeral axis in order of Pronaos, Hypostyle Hall, Vestibule and Sanctuary.
  The pronaos is 18m long and 16.7m wide. There are eight Osiris pillars, each 10m high, arranged in two rows and depicting Osiris with the features of Ramesses.
  

Great Temple; Sanctuary, seen from Vestibule.

• The sanctuary is 4m by 7m and here sits the four statues of Ramesses II, Ptah, Amen Ra and Hamarkhis.
• Twice a year, at the solstices, the sun penetrates the entire length of the temple and floods the statues of Amon, Hamarkhis and the pharaoh with light. After about five minutes the light disappears and it is truly remarkable that Ptah is never struck by the rays of the sun, for Ptah is the god of darkness.

Photo: Shoji Hiramatsu

[No.1]Great Temple; Facade
[No.2]Great Temple; Colossi of Ramesses II, Interior of Pronaos
[No.3]Great Temple; interior of Pronaos and Sanctuary
[No.4]Small Temple; facade, interior

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