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Why Abu Simbel
is special
Abu Simbel is famous for its four imposing statues of the seated Pharaoh Rameses. Those sculptures guard his temple's
entrance. They and the temple behind them were originally carved out of the same
sandstone cliff, over three millennia
ago.
Taller than
photos suggest
 Each of the seated Abu Simbel statues is as high as a five-story building. For scale, notice the statues standing between
the pharaoh's legs -- they are life size.
Why Abu Simbel
was built
Pharaoh Rameses II wanted to impress his Egyptian subjects of his grandeur -- and to set fear in the hearts of
his formidable Nubian enemies who threatened Egypt's southern
border.
The other
Abu Simbel temple
The nearby temple of the wife of Rameses II is also a part of the Abu Simbel complex -- and an
archaeological
must-visit.
The saving
of Abu Simbel
The construction of Egypt's vast Aswan High Dam across the Nile River in the 1960s guaranteed that
the Abu Simbel wonder would be submerged -- thereby lost to future scholars and tourists -- unless it
were moved to higher ground. This would require
cutting Abu Simbel into large blocks and
reassembling them on top of the cliff, safely
above the rising waters. This remarkable engineering feat was accomplished by a joint Egyptian and
international effort, finishing in the nick of time.
Interesting tidbits
about Abu Simbel
It
took several decades for the ancients to build Abu Simbel.
 Most
temples of antiquity are eventually physically
altered, defiled or destroyed. This was not the
fate of Abu Simbel because encroaching sands soon
buried its lower half. It lay forgotten for
millennia. Abu Simbel wasn't rediscovered and
exposed until about 200 years ago.
Originally,
the backdrop of Abu Simbel was the cliff it was
carved out of. Problem: The relocated temple would
be on top of the cliff, which had no backdrop.
Solution: Construct an artificial mountain behind
the relocated temple's facade.
The
second from the left Pharaoh statute was severely
damaged by an ancient earthquake. The shattered
fallen head and torso lie at the statue's feet (see photo).
Abu
Simbel's innermost room lies at the end of a long
corridor straight back from the temple's entrance.
Once only the Pharaoh and high priests could go
inside this ultra holy sanctuary. Now you can, too.
Twice
a year a shaft of light from the rising sun
mystically illuminates the deity statues inside
the innermost room. This occurs during the spring
and fall equinoxes (late February and October).
Rameses
II - who commissioned Abu Simbel - is considered
the greatest Pharaoh ever. He reigned for a long
time - 67 years (1279 to 1213 BC).
His
3200 year old mummy is dramatically displayed
(head and hand are unwrapped) in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
View my other top 100
Wonders of the World
 
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