The Temple of Beit El-Wali standing close to the edge of ancient Nubia is an imposing rock cut monument carved into sandstone cliffs during the reign of Ramesses II Built around 50 kilometers south of Aswan it was the first temple the pharaoh commissioned in Nubia thousands of years ago
More than just a place of worship it served as a bold display of Egypt’s devotion to its gods and its power over the region
The walls resemble a book of stories, depicting the battles on a giant scale, divine favor by the gods, and the eternal fame of Ramesses II. The temple has been re-purposed through the passage of time to function as a Christian church during the Coptic period. The fusion of ancient Egyptian history and later Christian history renders the Beit el Wali temple in Egypt nothing less than exceptional and remarkable.