Temple of Beit Wali
About the Temple of Beit El Wali
The Temple of Beit El Wali is one of the remarkable yet less visited temples of ancient Egypt. The temple is located about 55 kilometers to the South of Aswan in the lands of Nubia.
The Temple of Beit El Wali was dedicated to the worship of the gods Amun; the King of Gods, and the god Khnum. It was relocated after the construction of the High Dam in the 1960 s, the same as the fascinating Temple of Abu Simble and the Temple of Philae, to another place which is higher than its original location to avoid the damage of the water of the Nile. This mission was accomplished by Polish architects with the funding coming from the Swiss Institution and the Chicago Institution.
About the Builder of the Temple of Beit El Wali, Ramses II
Ramses II was the third king of the 19th dynasty that belonged to the era of the New Kingdom in Ancient Egypt. He is the son of the king Teti III. Ramses II is considered to be the greatest Pharaoh that ruled over Egypt throughout history and he is certainly the best builder that the land of the Nile ever experienced.
Many of the astonishing structures which were constructed in ancient Egypt that tourists view today were accomplished by Ramses II and he was credited for establishing, renewing, and restoring a large number of buildings during his time.
The constructions of Ramses II included the Temple of Abu Simble, his mortuary Temple of the Rammasuem in the West Bank of Luxor, many sections in the Temples of Karnak and Luxor, and this is besides a large collection of huge statues of himself like the one located in the Memphis Open Air Museum, to the South of Saqqara today.
Ramses II who led a lot of successful military campaigns in all directions especially towards the Nubians in the South and the Hittites in the East signed the first peace treaty in history with the Hittites after the great battle of Qadesh that Ramses has always been boosting about in many temples all around Egypt.
The Construction and the History of the Temple of Beit El Wali
Carved into rock, the Temple of Beit El Wali was constructed by Ramses II in Nubia as an evidence of his strong control over the area. Many of the carvings and decorations of the temple are still preserved however some of them lost their magnificent colors.
Beit El Wali was built through cutting inside the sand rocks of the mountains of Nubia and it is the smallest temple following that style of construction as other examples include the magnificent huge Temple of Abu Simble, which was also relocated after the building of the High Dam.
The original location of the Temple of Beit El Wali was rather strange as it was constructed in an isolated spot far from any modern or ancient towns we learned about through historical records.
This was why many historians believe that the Temple of Beit El Wali was constructed by Ramses II to show of his power and control in Nubia, rather than building a religious structure for the inhabitants of the area to practice their worshiping rituals. A small number of priests were assigned by Ramses II to manage the temple and the rituals were never carried out on regular basis.
The structure of the Temple of Beit El Wali was modified in the beginning of the Christian period and many of its colors and reliefs are still in a good shape. Maybe this is why the temple was named "Beit El Wali" or the Temple of the pious leader as it served as a house for monks and Christian leaders for a long period of time when the Copts of Egypt escaped the brutality of the Romans and resorted to the Southern section of the country.
The Description of the Temple of Beit El Wali
The Temple of Beit El Wali most liked had a large pylon in front of the main courtyard and the entrance inside the temple in the same style as the Temple of Abu Simble. Moreover, it was constructed following the regular proportional plan that consisted of a relatively large hall, some chambers and then the sanctuary at the end of the structure.
An open courtyard is situated in front of the temple and it was cut out of rock as well. The main structure that remained from the Temple of Beit El Wali is located just to the North of the open courtyard that hosts its entrance as well.
The main structure of the temple is around thirteen meters length and six meters wide making the whole structure to measure around 75 square meters, which is quite small in comparison to other temples of ancient Egypt like the Karnak, Luxor, or the Queen Hatshepsut Temples.
In the original plan, there was a corridor that takes the visitor inside the temple and it had a ceiling while the rest of the hall, the larger section was left in the open air.
The Military Achievements of Ramses II
The wall carvings in the main hall or structure of the Temple of Beit El Wali are considered to be of significant importance as they recorded and displayed details of the military achievements of Ramses II. This is yet some more evidence proving that the king Ramses II built this temple to show off his greatness rather than for any religious reasons and maybe this was why it was constructed in a different exceptional location as well.
The walls to the left of the main structure of the Temple of Beit El Wali display the battles that Ramses II won in Nubia and how he was able to control the tribes living there. While the walls to the right represent some details of other victories of Ramses II in the East, near the Egyptian Libyan borders, and to the West near Syria today.
The sons of Ramses II, who officially had eight official royal wives and a large number of children, are also included in some of the displays representing the military victories of Ramses II in Nubia. Historians were never able to be certain if the sons of Ramses II really participated in these military campaigns or not.
As a matter of fact, the age of the two sons of Ramses, during the times when the king fought to gain control over Nubia, was between five and eight years old. Therefore, it was impossible that they really participated in the battles but maybe they accompanied their father to learn from his exceptional skills in their early age.
Not only he had control over Nubia, Ramses II forced the Nubians to pay him taxations and he never forgot to display this fact in the carvings of the walls of the Temple of Beit El Wali. These carvings were made following a rather different style and form as they were uncomplicated scenes and some of the portrays seem comic. Furthermore, scholars and Egyptologists never knew the reason behind this uncommon style of recording historical events on the walls of the temples of ancient Egypt.
Unfortunately, the walls situated at the last section of the main hall of the Temple of Beit El Wali were mostly damaged. A doorway afterwards leads to a wide antechamber with a ceiling that is based upon two large columns.
The small sanctuary of the Temple of Beit El Wali is reached through the antechamber. Being around three meters wide and not more than three meters a half long, it is considered to be relatively small, in comparison to any other sanctuary constructed in the temple of Ancient Egypt. The most significant feature of the sanctuary is these three statues displaying the king Ramses with the gods.
The Temple of Beit El Wali is considered to be the most ancient surviving temples of ancient Egypt in the area of Nubia. This is besides the Temple of Gerf Hussein that was constructed by the same builder of Beit El Wali, the Great Ramses II. However, Beit El Wali was maybe erected a few years before the construction of the Temple of Gerf Hussein.
Scholars, who have studied the Temple of Beit El Wali through a long period of time, have noted that there were four stages of the building and the temple and that only three craftsmen worked in the carvings of the wall.
Putting into consideration the fact that ancient temples like the Karnak or the Luxor Temple had thousands of workers and artists to build and decorate them, the Temple of Beit El Wali is rather one of the smallest constructions of ancient Egypt.
On the walls of the main hall of the Temple of Beit El Wali, there are some interesting scenes carved into the rock. One of them displays a number of men holding different materials on their shoulders like ebony and taking care of animals like ostrich and gazelles. This portray represents the goods that Ramses II brought from Nubia to his homeland in Egypt.
Visiting the Temple of Beit El Wali
The Temple of Beit El Wali is included in most itineraries of Nile Cruises sailing from Aswan to Lake Nasser or vice versa as it is located near the Temple of Kalabsha.
Other nearby ancient historical sites, located close to the Temple of Beit El Wali would include the Temple of Kalabsha, the Kiosk of Qertassi and these were established during the Roman ruling period of Egypt. All these monuments are usually visited together, as part of a Nile Cruise trip from 3 or 4 days from Aswan to Abu Simble, or vise versa, or through hiring a boat from Aswan to explore these wonderful constructions in a one day trip.
0 comments:
Post a Comment