Temples of Abu Simbel


When visiting Aswan, you should not miss seeing the Temples of Abu Simbel. They are located 300 km southwest in the Nubian Desert on the banks of Lake Nasser not far away from the Sudanesian border. You can reach them by aeroplane or by Hydrofoil, a water foil boat. 
Ramses II commisioned the temples about 1250BC. The great temple is consecrated to the Gods Amon Re, Re-Harachte and Ptah, the smaller one is a Hathor-Temple for Ramses' wife Nefertari. Hathor was the Goddess of Love of the Old Egyptians.  
   The temples used to be located lower down near the banks of the Nile. After building the new dam, it meant that they would be flooded. So in an international operation of UNESCO, the surface of the hill and the inner halls were sawed up and reconstructed 64 m higher up the valley, inside a concrete dome. The reconstruction of both temples was so accurate, that no one can see from outside that the hill is hollow.  
Although we are already 300 km southwest of the dam and not far away of the Sudanese border, the Lake Nasser continues 200 km further south. 
A small airport was built specially for the temples. When asked when the aeroplane (a Boeing 727), would depart, the answer was "as soon as everybody will be back from the temples"!


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