Temple of Queen Nefertari

also dedicated to Hathor of Abshek. It is also mainly rock-cut and, although much smaller, it is nonetheless imposing. An inscription to the N of the temple indicates that the builder was ‘The Viceroy of Kush, Ani of Heracleopolis’. The fa«;ade is 28.3m long and 12.2m high. On either
side of the door, separatt;ld by butresses, are three standing colossi (11.Sm high), two of Ramesses II and in the centre Queen Nefertari . Each is accompanied by two smaller figures of their children. From the left the figure of Ramesses has the princesses Meryatum and Meryrec, Nefertari has the princesses Merytamun and Hentawi and the second figure of Ramesses has the princes Amunhirkhopshef and Rahrirwemenef. Those on the right-hand side reverse the sequence.

description of Temple of Queen Nefertari

On either side of the door is a double scene of the king offering wine to Re<-Harakhte; on the jamb  are cartouches and building inscriptions of the king and queen. A passage lea9,s into a square Hall with six square Hathor-headed and sistra pillars decorated with the king and queen making offerings to various gods of the area. The ceiling is decorated with a dedicatory inscription of Ramesses II to the queen. Ramesses accompanied by the queen kills a Nubian before Amun- Ramesses before Hathor of Abshek. Ramesses crowned by Horus and Set. Nefertari before Anuket. Ramesses accompanied by queen kills a Libyan before Re<-Harakhte. Ramesses offers to Ptah in a kiosk. Nefertari before Hathor. The king offering wine to Re<-Harakhte. A doorway with the titles of the king has Ramesses entering. The doorway leads into the transverse Vestibule Ramesses offers wine to Rec~Harakhte and the queen offers flowers to Khnum, Satet and Anuket. Ramesses offers flowers to the Horuses of Myan, Baki and Buhen, and wine to Amun-Rec. Above the doorway are the queen’s cartouches protected by vultures. In the Sanctuary there is a niche in the rear wall, supported by sistra, with a statue of Hathor as a cow protecting Ramesses II. The small temple of Queen Nefertari is located a hundred meters to the north of the large temple, and this temple was carved into the rocks of the mountain that the ancient Egyptians called “The Pure Mountain” or “The Northern Mountain”, and before the construction of the Nefertari temple, the local people came to this mountain because they believed that the spirit The goddess Hathor lives inside this mountain, and King Ramses took advantage of the belief of the people of Abu Simbel and carved a temple dedicated to both his wife, Queen Nefertari, and the goddess Hathor. The small temple consists of a facade with six statues, followed by a pillar hall, and a transverse hall. The temple ends with a small sanctuary and on the sides of it two adjacent rooms. Temple scenes focus on daily religious ceremonies in the temple, such as presenting flowers, carrying the clay tool, serving wine, and burning incense over offerings. It is noticed in this temple that King Ramses II controlled his scenery, and he alone owned seventeen views compared to twelve scenes of the owner of the temple Nefertari, and cut four statues for himself at the facade for two for Nefertari. The facade of the small temple is twelve meters high, and twenty eight meters wide, and is divided into two towers, each of which includes a group of three sculpted statues, which is ten meters high, two of them representing King Ramesses II and the third of his wife Nefertari, and the most beautiful statue of Queen Nefertari is in the right group, in which Queen Nefertari appears in a long transparent dress, and holds in her hands the tool clay, and put on her head the distinctive Hathori crown consisting of the two feathers and between them the sun disk.