The Ramesseum in West Thebes

With its head in the sand, a colossal statue lies amidst the remains of a massive temple complex, looking so helpless that you’d love to stand it back up again. The remains of this mortuary temple, built as a place of worship for Ramesses II and the gods Amun, Mut and Khonsu in West Thebes near Luxor, on the middle reaches of the Nile in Egypt, as well as the many other imposing structures, are testimonies to a highly advanced civilisation that produced a sophisticated form of government, technical inventions and great artists. Walls and columns are almost completely covered with reliefs and paintings, giving an impression of the life of the ancient Egyptians in earlier times as well as their ideas of the world before and after death, which played an important role in their religion. This is how many burial sites were created out of concern for the well-being of the deceased in the realm of the dead. This was even more true for a Pharaoh; to ensure the continued existence of their own empire, burial sites were built and riches and everyday items were sent along on the journey to the afterlife.

All images from the ‘Weltbilder’ edition