Happy Valentine's Day!!

On this day when we celebrate love — chocolates, roses, whispered promises — I find myself thinking about a love story that has outlived empires.

More than 3,200 years ago, the great pharaoh Ramesses II — often called Ramesses the Great — ruled Egypt at the height of its power. He built monuments across the land, raised colossal statues of himself, and made sure history would never forget his name.

But among all his victories and vanities… there was one name he elevated beside his own:

Nefertari.

And not quietly.

Publicly. Permanently. Immortally.

“The One for Whom the Sun Shines”

In inscriptions dedicated to her, Ramesses referred to Nefertari with a line that still stirs the heart across millennia:

“The one for whom the sun shines.”

Pause on that for a moment.

Not a title of power.
Not a political alliance.
Not “Great Royal Wife,” though she was that too.

But the one for whom the sun shines — as if the very cosmos rose each day in her honor.

For a king whose ego was legendary, this kind of poetic devotion is extraordinary. Egyptian pharaohs deified themselves — yet here was Ramesses, placing his queen in celestial light.

Love, for him, was not hidden in private chambers.

He carved it into eternity.

The Side-by-Side Temples of Abu Simbel

Nothing proves that love more powerfully than what stands on the cliffs of Nubia to this day:

The twin temples of Abu Simbel.

The larger temple, of course, glorifies Ramesses II — colossal seated statues, each over 60 feet tall, guarding the entrance.

But beside it — not behind, not hidden, not secondary in placement — stands the smaller temple dedicated to Nefertari.

And here is what makes historians and romantics alike catch their breath:

The statues of Nefertari on her temple façade are carved the same height as those of Ramesses.

In ancient Egyptian art, size equaled importance.

Queens were almost always depicted smaller than kings.

Not Nefertari.

Ramesses broke tradition — elevating her visually, symbolically, and spiritually to stand beside him as an equal.

It is, quite literally, monumental love.

A Queen Worthy of Eternity

Nefertari was more than beloved — she was respected, educated, and politically significant. She could read and write hieroglyphs (rare even among royalty), corresponded with foreign queens, and played a diplomatic role in stabilizing Egypt’s empire.

Her tomb in the Valley of the Queens (QV66) is often called the most beautiful in Egypt — walls alive with color, showing her guided by the gods into the afterlife.

Even in death, Ramesses ensured she traveled eternity in splendor.

Because love, to him, did not end at the grave.

Why This Story Matters — Especially Today

Valentine’s Day often leans commercial — flowers that wilt, cards that fade, dinners that end.

But the story of Ramesses and Nefertari reminds us of something deeper:

Love is not measured by gifts.
It is measured by how we honor one another — publicly, proudly, and without hesitation.

Ramesses could have built monuments only to himself.

Instead, he placed the woman he loved beside him… in stone… for all time.

So today, as we celebrate love in our modern ways, it’s worth remembering this ancient truth:

To love someone fully is to let the world see their light.

To say, in whatever words we choose…

You are the one for whom my sun shines.

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