Abu Simbel

Abu Simbel is a Temple which was located on the banks of the Nile in the far South Egypt close to the border with Sudan. It was carved out of the side of the mountain and consists of 4 colossal statues of Ramses II (which are identical and stand at a height of 20m). Abu Simbel was designed in such a way so that the statues of the Pharaoh could keep an eye out for anyone sailing up the Nile into his land. Each of the carved Ramses at Abu Simbel is sat upon a chair surrounded by much smaller statues of his wife, certain of his children (as he is thought to have a great many) and his mother.

Carved within the mountain are vast rooms encompassing statues of certain gods and Pharaohs including Osiris and Ramses II himself. Deeper inside the temple of Abu Simbel is the Sacred Chamber where the Four Gods sit.

In 1960 with the construction of the Aswan Low Dam, Abu Simbel was to be lost underwater. UNESCO quickly moved into action across Southern Egypt and started to dismantle a number of temples in partucular Abu Simbel to move it to an adjacent site 65 metres higher than the original and over 200 metres away. The Temple was cut up into around 2000 pieces generally of between 10 and 40 tonnes in weight. The orientation of Abu Simbel was kept the same in order that the sun shone through the entrance to the temple and lit up the back wall on the 22nd October and 22nd February of each year (which symbolises the cycle of the coronation and birth of Ramses II) as it did previously.