The Great Temple of Abu Simbel, located in Nubia near the southern border of Egypt, is among the most magnificent monuments in Egypt. King Ramses II of the Nineteenth Dynasty was completely cut down in the mountain, around 1264 BC. The temple is famous for its four huge seated statues, which It adorns its facade, one of which collapsed due to an ancient earthquake, and its remains are still on the ground.
The huge statues of the king stand on both sides of the main hall leading to the Holy of Holies, where four deities sit: Amun-Re, Ra-Harakhty, Ptah, and deified Ramses II. The temple was built with high precision so that the sun's rays enter the temple two days a year, on February 22 and 22 October, crossing the main hall, and lighting up the statues in the depth of the temple, and it is believed that these dates correspond to the coronation and birth of Ramses II.
To the north is another temple of rock known as the Small Temple, dedicated to the goddess Hathor and the great royal wife of Ramses II, Queen Nefertari.
In 1960, the entire complex of facilities was moved to another place, on an artificial hill made of the dome structure, and above the reservoir of the High Dam in Aswan. The Nile River.
An international campaign of donations began to save the temple, and the rescue operation began in 1964, and this process cost 40 million dollars, between 1964 and 1968, the whole site was cut into large blocks (up to 30 tons and an average of 20 tons), and they were dismantled and re-installed in the site New at an altitude of 65 m and 200 m above the level of the river. The issue of transportation is one of the greatest works in archaeological engineering. Some structures were rescued from under the waters of Lake Nasser. The transfer process was completed and the temple was accepted into the list of World Heritage Sites "UNESCO" in 1979. .
Thu, Jan. 27, 2022
