Colossi of Memnon, Luxor

These gygantic statues are the only remains of the immense mortuary temple of Amenophis III built in the 14th century BC. Each is 18 meters high weighing 1300 tons. One is monolythic and the second is made of granite blocks. After a big earthquake in 27 BC, the blocks separated slightly and this statue began “singing” when the sun was rising. This site soon became a pilgrimage site for the Greeks and Romans who believed that their hero Agamemnon (Memnon) was greeting his mother Aurora, the goddess of the sunrise). After the restoration of the statue by Septimius Severus, it stopped singing.

These colossal statues is all that remains of a huge temple built by Amenophis III. A earthquake destroyed the temple 2000 years ago and the colossi are the only stones alive. The cracks caused by the quake in the statues makes some noise with the wind, for many centuries it was thought the noise was supernatural.

The Colossi of Memnon are situated on the main road to the West Bank monument area.
All tourist's groups have here stop for some minutes - so, you can take photos!

These two gigantic statues (around 17m high) were cut from two massive granite blocks, brought from quarries near Cairo. And once they stood at the entrance gate of the mortuary temple of Amenhotep III. Nowadays almost nothing remains about this temple of Amenhotep III.
Statues represents the pharaoh Amenhotep III (Dynasty XVIII).
There are very interesting story - after an earthquake in 27 BC, part of the northern colossus collapsed and from then on each morning at sunrise, the statue produced a strange musical sound. Ancient :-) Greek and Roman tourists :-) came to hear this sound, and gave statue the name of "Memnon" - a Trojan hero, the son of Eos and Titan, who sang to his mother each morning at daybreak. It's a legend, but in reality the sun heating up the stone produced this strange sound.
In the third century AD northern statue was repaired and the mysterious singing was never heard again.
But as a result of the legend the statues of Amenhotep III became known as the Colossi of Memnon.

There is no entrance charge or restrictions on photography.

When you cross the Nile to the westbank, the Colossi of Memnon are the first monuments you will see. The massive Colossi of Memnon, made of yellow-brown sandstone are 17,9M high. Once they were 21 M with crowns. The statues of king Amenophis, son of Hapoe, are crownless and faceless nowadays. if you have a good look, you can see at the base of the left colos Teje, the wife of the king and Moetemoeja the mother of the king.

The Colossi of Memnon at the westbank are the remains of the temple of the king Amenotis III, once the largest temple of Thebe. The temple is destroyed by the flooding of the Nile centuries ago.
The Colossi of Memnon nowadays stand solitary as guardians for the necropolis at the edge of the desert.

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It`s hard to miss the Colossi of Memnon as they`re on the main road to just about anywhere in the Theban Necropolis.

They`re also a useful signpost as tickets to all monuments on the West Bank must be bought at the ticket office about 400m past the Colossi.

These statues are on the way to the Valley of the
Kiings from Luxor. Most guide tours stop for a short time here I think and you can have your photo moment. Well, they are really big, and when the wind runs through them, supposedly they make an eerie whistling sound...

Each carved from a single piece of stone the Colossi are 18m high and are virtually all that remains of a once great temple. They depict Amenhotep III and they once stood at the entrance to the temple as Ramses II stands before the first pylon at Luxor temple. The temple was on low ground and hence it has been destroyed by the Nile floods.
You will come across these colossi on route from Luxor to the Valley of the Kings.