The history of Egypt, one way or another, is connected with the netherworld. These are stone tombs of the pharaohs, immortal mummies, and mysterious papyruses depicting scenes of the afterlife. It would be a mistake to come to this incredible country and not to visit the City of the Dead in modern Luxor. Going to the other shore of the Nile, the source of life since the Stone Age, in the direction of the land of Kings and Queens, everyone can see giant statues of 18 meters high weighing about 700 tons each. Today, these stone colossi are one of the main city attractions. During the time of Ancient Egypt, they served as immortal guards at the entrance to the funerary temple of the great pharaoh of the XVIII dynasty, Amenhotep III.

The Colossi of Memnon were made about 3,500 years ago and named after the King of the Ethiopians killed by Achilles in the Trojan War, though they actually depict the Egyptian pharaoh. On each of them, Amenhotep III sits on a stone throne, with his hands folded on his knees. He is looking at the river of life and the rising sun. At the foot of the statue, you can see two smaller figures. These are his mother, Queen Mutemwiya, and his Great Royal Wife Tiye, the grandmother of the legendary Tutankhamun. On the side panels of his throne, there are images of the patron of the crops and the god of Nile, Hapi. During the reign of Amenhotep III, the colossi were protecting the most magnificent temple complex of all Egypt. Its area was more than 35 hectares, and none of the other rulers could erect something similar to this grandiose construction. 

Later, the pharaohs of the XIX dynasty turned the temple of Amenhotep III into a quarry and, after that, took it to pieces. Only the great Colossi remained in this place, reminding of the power and strength of the greatest pharaoh, whose reign is considered the era of the ancient state’s prosperity.