Abu Simbel Is a small
village laying on the western bank of Lake Nasser, about 290 kilometers south
Aswan and only 40 Km north the frontiers of Sudan. Abu Simbel Temples were
carved out in Ramses II Reign, in the 19th, Dynasty, Ramses II built this Temples to
commemorate his victory at the Battle of Kadesh as well as to threat the
Nubians.
The temples were firstly
excavated in 1813 and before this date nothing was knowing about this complex.
At the time of its discovery, it was found covered by sand up to knees, when
Swiss Burckhardt found the top of the complex and asked an Italian explorer
(Belzoni) to travel with him to the site, but he was unable to find an entry to
the temple. In 1817, Belzoni returned to Abu Simbel and he succeeded this time
to enter the complex. These temples were part of the UNESCO mission to rescue
the Nubian monuments, the temples were dismantled and relocated in 1960 on a
hill high above the basin of the High Dam. The rescue mission of Abu Simbel Temples
(Queen Nefertari) reached up to about 40 million USD.
The
whole complex was cut into large blocks and was relocated 65 meter higher and
200 meter back from the Nile River. Many tourists from all
over the world come to see Abu Simbel temples as there are regular flights as
well as daily convoy from Aswan towards the complex.