Abu Simbel is a small village on the west
bank of Lake Nasser, about 290 kilometers south of Aswan and only 40 kilometers
north of the Sudan border. The temples of Abu Simbel were carved during the
reign of Ramesses II, in the 19th dynasty. Ramesses II built these
temples to commemorate his victory in the Battle of Kadesh and also to threaten
the Nubians.
The temples were first excavated in 1813,
and before that nothing was known about this complex. When Swiss Burckhardt discovered
the complex, it was covered by sand up to knees. He found the top of the
complex, but he was unable to find an entry to the temple and asked an Italian
explorer (Belzoni) to travel with him to the site. 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 cost
of the rescue mission of Abu Simbel Temples was approximately 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 to the complex.