Twice a year at dawn, a shaft of sunlight cuts through Abu Simbel’s Great Temple to light three statues—and in doing so turns a tourist spectacle into evidence of ancient astronomical engineering ...

"The great temple of Ramses II and the neighboring temple of Nefertari are among the largest and most magnificent monuments of the ancient world. When it was learned that Abu Simbel would be totally ...

Most Pharaohs built monuments to themselves, but Ramses II did something unheard of. At the southern edge of Egypt, he carved a second, smaller temple for his favorite wife, Nefertari—showing her the ...