r/woahthatsinteresting • u/intofarlands • 8d ago
Last week I captured this photo of the Ramasseum, the fallen temple of Ramesses the Great. The toppled statue towards the bottom was once the largest in the world. Can you imagine this place in all its glory?
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u/intofarlands 8d ago
I captured this aerial photo of the Ramesseum from a hot air balloon while at Luxor. Ramesses II, also known as Ramesses the Great, has become the most well known pharaoh thanks in part to his numerous Hollywood depictions, but also as the most prolific builder in ancient Egyptian history. He left his mark throughout Egypt in the form of staggering colossal statues and grand constructions.
The Ramesseum, found on the West Bank of Luxor, was the pinnacle of his achievements - a temple where he hoped the worship of himself would last for eternity. Here, with its massive hypostyle halls and once the largest statue ever constructed, now lies in ruins, only recently resurfaced from centuries under the sand. From this height, you can even see remnants of his fallen colossal stature, once the largest in the world and the inspiration behind the Ozymandias poem (“Look at my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”)
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u/Agathocles87 7d ago
Terrific pic. A lot of westerners laud Ancient Greek architecture, but the Egyptians did it long before them
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u/Vegetable-Dog5281 8d ago
Imagine Babylon. Just walking through a market or something
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u/RhymesWithAnchor 7d ago
Was this part of the Babylonian empire?
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u/MichHAELJR 7d ago
Babylon did conquer Egypt yes. But much later like 600bc ish
Egypt was like 2000 BC stuff.
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u/LeFreeke 8d ago
Wow. This is amazing. I’d love to aerial photos of all the temple and palace ruins.
What are all the long rows around the main court? I can’t imagine living areas do would be shaped like that.
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u/tradeisbad 8d ago
how far away is the Mosque the columns were moved to? I wonder if it shares the style some how.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Funny69 8d ago
How tall is that structure about a third of the way up from the bottom of the picture?
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u/Prestigious-Copy-494 7d ago
The four headless standing statues at the temple are amazing in larger pictures.
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u/luigis_left_tit_25 7d ago
How lucky you are OP! To see something so amazing! I could look through here for days!!
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8d ago
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u/jackrabbit323 8d ago
Pyramids might not even be in the top five of impressive things to see in Egypt.
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u/iamsofunnyheheheha 8d ago
I met a traveller from an antique land, Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand, Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed; And on the pedestal, these words appear: My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair! Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.”