Abu Simbel is in southern Egypt, not far from the border with Sudan and is located in one of the warmest and driest regions of Egypt. Flying in to Abu Simbal airport is like stepping back in time. Few tourists linger in the laid-back, quiet town of Abu Simbel, staying no more than the few hours needed to visit the colossal temples for which it is famous. I would recomend wandering around this small nontourisly Nubian town, if only to purchase the obligatory souvenir, the atmosphere is electric.
The Great Temple at Abu Simbel, which took about twenty years to build, was completed around year 24 of the reign of Ramesses the Great. It is generally considered the grandest and most beautiful of the temples commissioned during the reign of Ramesses II, and one of the most beautiful in Egypt.
The single entrance is flanked by four colossal, 20 m (66 ft) statues, each representing Ramesses II seated on a throne and wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt.
Due to the construction of the Aswan high dam in the early 1960s, this whole temple along with other monuments was moved 60ft to prevent it being submurged by rising waters.The picture below illustrates how near the waterside of lake Nassar it now stands.
Just to the north of the main temple is a smaller one, dedicated to Nefertari for the worship of the goddess Hathor and adorned with 35-foot statues of the king and queen. The internal decoration is amazing and should not be missed.
An amazing phenonema you expierience is the changing colours of the temple, as the sun reaches its zenith, the whole temple takes on a glorious pink colouration and twice a year the sun penetrates the Temples celebrating the cultivation and flooding seasons, which also reflects Ramses II, birth and coronation respectively. The location of the 4 internal statues was measured carefully so that Plah, god of darkness, would remain in the dark. Wrong time of the year to expierience that, but the temple is still awe inspiring.
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