Egyptian Travels: Giant statues at the Colossi of Memnon and Amenhotep III

On a recent trip to Luxor, Egypt, I was in the backseat of a van on the way to Medinet Habu. I looked out the window and noticed two giant statues sitting in an open field by the road. Our guide turned the car around so we could get a closer look. This was the Colossi of Memnon and Amenhotep III.

The two 60 foot statues of Amenhotep III stand at the gates of the pharaoh's funerary temple. Behind the large statues, you can see that archeologists are working to excavate and reconstruct the rest of the temple. The informational signs at the site outline how the area has decayed over the years but that they are working to repair the damage. Their conservation effort is ongoing and we can't wait to see how it looks in the years to come.