Back to the Nile

Pharaonic Egypt in Sketches 3 The four colossi depicting Ramesses II, carved into the rock and almost covered by sand, adorned the façade of the great temple of Abu Simbel built by Ramesses II. It was rediscovered by the Swiss orientalist and traveler Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in 1813. Four years later, in 1817, the first Europeans penetrated the interior of the temple. One of Belzoni’s feats was to free façade of the monument from the enormous mass of sand engulfing it.       The kiosk of Trajan on the island of Philae, It was called by David Roberts an 'hypaethral temple', since it had no roof, and was described by the natives of the area as the ‘bed of the pharaoh’. In reality, the building, with perfect architectural proportions, was originally covered by a wooden roof, and was a wayside chapel for the sacred barque of Isis carried in procession during the great ceremonies held in honor of the goddess.