One of those breathtaking immense ancient sights--right smack on the side of the road! They are each about 60 feet tall and are all that remains of what was once the largest complex on the West Bank of the Nile. It was built by Amenhotep III and may have been larger than the temple of Karnak which is approximately 1 mile long and 1/2 mile wide! A description of the temple read "white sandstone, with gold throughout, a floor covered with silver..." Statues and fragments from the temple are in the Egyptian and British museums, among others.
Sadly, the temple was located on the flood plain of the Nile and annual rising water has worn away everything but these 2 statues. Even during the Greco-Roman times these were big tourist attractions (isn't it funny to think of a tourist industry hundreds and hundreds of years ago?) The Greeks believed they represented King Memnon, the son of the goddess of the dawn Eos, and who was killed by Achilles during the Trojan War.
One of the statues used to emit a musical sighing sound every morning at sunrise. Rumours ranged from a mother whose child had been killed and who called to her every night to King Memnon himself greeting his mother each morning. The truth--the upper part of the statue was badly damaged during an earthquake. The heat of the morning sun would heat the dew-soaked stone. Sand particles would break off and the crumbling would resonate in the cracks. The statue was repaired in the 3rd century AD and the song was silenced.
Somehow I like the stories better than the reality. Cameron liked the science.
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