Day 25~ March 25th~ Egypt

egypt then and now~ two men near one of the ‘Colossi of Memnon’ in Luxor

The Colossi of Memnon are shrouded with mystery and lore. One of these 2 massive 18 meter statues is known since ancient history to ‘sing’ at dawn. It is supposed to emanate a sound like the string of a lyre breaking at the early morning hours. The phenomenon was first reported by the Greek historian Strabo who claims to have personally heard it around the year 20BC.  These statues stand marking the entrance to Amenhotep’s temple and are said to depict his person.

The strangest thing to me about these statue and other megalithic sites I have seen in Europe (Carnac, Avebury, Stonehenge) is the fact that the stones that made them were firstly incredibly massive and secondly, they were transported across long distances in ways that we still do not comprehend. We always assumed that the ancients were inferior to us with their lack of technological know-how, but were they really? The large one-piece stones for these statues were quarried about 420 miles (675 km) away from where they stand and were moved to Thebes where they have been for at least the last 3400 years. This is a massive undertaking that amazes me and forces me think that we know so little about Egypt.


Comments

16 responses to “Day 25~ March 25th~ Egypt”

  1. IT is amazing how they transported these large rocks. I’m transfixed by the faceless nature of this particular statue – The forgotten past. It seems that just like history: the details are lost and only faint remembrances remain to suggest form and relation. I’m really enjoying this series.

  2. Hi,
    Egypt is just so full of mysteries that I feel will never be solved, the ancient Egyptians and other ancient civilizations were far superior I feel.

  3. The sepia tone give this the appearance of an old lithograph! Superb shot!

  4. Amazing history, and that is a spectacular photo.

  5. nice old style processing

  6. Great picture…fascinating to wonder just how these things were managed!

  7. Reblogged this on ram0ram note book.

  8. Great shot! And so very true! I wondered the same while I was in Egypt. It’s amazing how little we still know about these undertakings.

  9. What a great post! I’ve been fascinated by the story of the Memnon statues for several years now, ever since I read something about it, but I’d never seen a picture until now! Such a wonderful photograph, full of texture and mystery.

  10. Very good composition. The statue contribute a lot to the photograph. Good day Nonoy Manga

  11. I really love this photograph. It visually tells a historic tale. That’s what I love about the world of photography. You capture through pictures what you can’t through written or spoken words.

    1. so true! A picture is open to interpretation and our imagination! Thanks for your comment!

  12. A wonderful photo of then and now. But you point about how they moved large stones is both a mystery and a marvelous wonder. As usual, a great post!

    1. Thank you Frank! It is quite a mystery!

  13. What a great shot!

    1. Thank you 🙂

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