Interior of the Great Temple of Aboo Simbel

The interior of the temple is 154 feet long by 52 broad (exclusive of the side chambers). It is comprised of fourteen separate rooms. Eight standing figures of Pharaoh Ramesses, 30 feet high, ornament the outer hall. They are as well proportioned as they are highly finished. The drapery of these statues reaches nearly half-way down to their knees, and is striped like that of the figures outside. The features of the countenances are perfect, and they all have the hook and scourge (the usual emblems of Pharaoh) in their hands, which are crossed on the chest.

The effect produced on first entering is more striking than any of those can afford. The loftiness of the ceiling, the imposing height of the square pillars and of the erect colossal statues attached to them, and the dimensions of the rooms, which are on a much larger scale than any of the other excavations, all contribute to render the interior of this temple no less admirable than its splendid exterior.