Egypt - Abu Simbel Temple

Abu Simbel Temple, Egypt

If it hadn't been for a miraculous feat of engineering Abu Simbel Temple would be under many feet of water in Lake Nasser. The temple originally sculpted out of solid rock 60 metres below the current location was cut into manageable pieces and craned into place, replicating the alignment to the sun about 290 km southwest of Aswan.

Over a four year period the two temples were dismantled in the same relative position to each other. The race against time was as a result of the building of the Aswan High Dam and the flooding of the valley.

The Abu Simbel complex consists of just two temples. The larger one is dedicated to Egypt's three state deities of the time Ra-Harakhty, Ptah and Amun Ra. The main temple also features four large statues of Rameses II across its facade. The smaller temple is dedicated to the goddess Hathor, in the guise of Queen Nefertari, Rameses's most beloved wife. Pharaoh Rameses had some 200 wives and concubines!

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