This article is about the Egyptian queen and wife of Ramesses II. For other persons by this name, see Nefertari (disambiguation). Nefertari Nefertari, also known as Nefertari Meritmut, was an Egyptian queen and the first of the Great Royal Wives (or principal wives) of Ramesses the Great.[1] Nefertari means 'beautiful companion' and Meritmut means 'Beloved of [the goddess] Mut'. She is one of the best known Egyptian queens, among such women as Cleopatra, Nefertiti, and Hatshepsut, and one of the most prominent not known or thought to have reigned in her own right. She was highly educated and able to both read and write hieroglyphs, a very rare skill at the time. She used these skills in her diplomatic work, corresponding with other prominent royals of the time. Her lavishly decorated tomb, QV66, is one of the largest and most spectacular in the Valley of the Queens. Ramesses also constructed a temple for her at Abu Simbel next to his colossal monument there.

Ramesses II variously also spelled Rameses[6] or Ramses, 'Ra is the one who bore him' or 'born of Ra', Koinē Greek: Ῥαμέσσης, romanized: Rhaméssēs, c. 1303 BC – July or August 1213; reigned 1279–1213 BC[7]), also known as Ramesses the Great, was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. He is often regarded as the greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh of the New Kingdom, itself the most powerful period of Ancient Egypt.[8] His successors and later Egyptians called him the "Great Ancestor".

Spend around 3 hours there then take the way back to Aswan