The two temples of Abu Simbel were cut into a sandstone cliff above the Nile by Ramses II around 1264 BC, near Egypt’s southern border with Nubia. They are about 280 km south of Aswan and are among the most impressive monuments in Egypt, made even more remarkable by the fact that the whole site was cut up and moved in the 1960s.
The Great Temple
Four seated statues of Ramses II, each about 20 meters tall, guard the entrance. Inside, eight more statues of the king as Osiris line the main hall, and the walls show his battle at Kadesh against the Hittites. Deep in the sanctuary sit four statues: Ra-Horakhty, Amun, Ptah and Ramses himself. Twice a year, around 22 February and 22 October, the rising sun shines straight down the temple and lights up three of them. Ptah, a god of the underworld, stays in the dark.
The Temple of Nefertari
The smaller temple was built for Ramses’s chief wife, Queen Nefertari, and the goddess Hathor. On its front, statues of the queen stand as tall as those of the king, which was very rare in Egyptian art.
Saved from Lake Nasser
When the High Dam was built, the rising waters of Lake Nasser would have drowned the temples. Between 1964 and 1968 an international team led by UNESCO cut them into more than 1,000 blocks and rebuilt them about 65 meters higher and 200 meters back from the river, inside an artificial hill.
How to get there
Most visitors drive from Aswan, about three and a half hours each way, leaving before dawn. There are also short flights from Aswan when they operate, and some Lake Nasser cruises moor right below the temples. Allow about two hours on site. See our tours that include Abu Simbel.
