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Abu Simbel:
Abu Simbel
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. When the temples (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 60 meters 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. You can also go inside the man made dome and
see an exhibition of photographs showing the different stages of the
massive removal project.
Abu Simbel was first reported by J. L. Burckhardt in 1813, when he came
over the mountain and only saw the facade of the great temple as he was
preparing to leave that area via the Nile. The two temples, that of
Ramesses II primarily dedicated to Re-Harakhte, and that of his wife,
Nefertari dedicated to Hathor, became a must see for Victorians visiting
Egypt, even though it required a trip up the Nile, and often they were
covered deeply in sand, as they were when Burckhardt found them.
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