THE TEMPLES, SITES AND MONUMENTS OF ANCIENT EGYPT

Abu Simbel is a set of two temples near the border of Egypt and Sudan. It was constructed for the 19th Dynasty Pharaoh Ramesses II the Great who reigned for 67 years (1279-1213 BC).

Not only are the two temples at Abu Simbel among the most magnificent monuments in the world but their removal and reconstruction was an historic event in itself.

The Great Temple (left) is dedicated to Ramesses II.The temple's facade is dominated by four enormous seated statues of the Pharaoh.

Each is over 67 ft/20 m high although one has been damaged since ancient times. A statue of Ramesses is seated with three other gods within the innermost part of the rock-cut temple (the sanctuary).

The Small Temple (right) was probably completed ahead of the Great Temple and is dedicated to Ramesses' favorite wife, Nefertari. At the entrance stand six 33 ft/10 m high rock-cut statues - two of Ramesses and one of Nefertari on either side of the doorway.

The Great Temple of Ramesses is primarily dedicated to Ra, and that of Nefertari is dedicated to Hathor,

Abu Simbel was first reported by J. L. Burckhardt in 1813, when he came over the mountain and saw the facade of the great temple. The temples became a must see for Victorians visiting Egypt.

When the temples (176 mi/280 km from Aswan) were threatened by submersion in Lake Nasser, due to the construction of the High Dam, the Egyptian Government secured the support of UNESCO and launched a world wide appeal. During the salvage operation which began in 1964 and continued until 1968, the two temples were dismantled and raised over 196 ft/60 m up the sandstone cliff where they had been built more than 3,000 years before.

Here they were reassembled, in the exact same relationship to each other and the sun, and covered with an artificial mountain. Most of the joins in the stone have now been filled by antiquity experts, but inside the temples it is still possible to see where the blocks were cut.

The temples can be reached by road, air or boat.

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