Abu Simbel
From Encyclopædia
{ah'-boo sim'-bul} Abu Simbel, or Ibsambul, located 282 km (175 mi) south of
Aswan,
Egypt, on the west bank of the Nile, is the site of two famous rock-hewn
temples built during the reign of Ramses II (1304-1237 BC). Four colossal statues of Ramses, measuring about 20 m (65 ft) high, are carved on the
facade of the larger
temple. Four others, about 10 m (33 ft) high, together with two statues of his principal
queen, Nefertari, embellish the
facade of the smaller
temple.The inner walls of the larger
temple bear painted reliefs of the king performing religious ceremonies and fighting against the Hittites and other foreign foes. At the far end, 55 m (180 ft) from the entrance, are statues of the gods
Ptah,
Amon-Re, Re-Harakhti, and the deified king, on which the direct rays of the Sun shine at sunrise twice annually, on Feb. 20 and Oct. 20. The smaller
temple, also decorated with religious scenes, was dedicated to the goddess
Hathor and the deified Nefertari.The construction of the
Aswan High Dam and the creation of Lake Nasser made it necessary to move the
temples to high ground above the original site. The project was finished in 1968 at a cost of $40 million.I. E. S. EdwardsBibliography: Desroches-Noblecourt, Christiane, and Gersten, Georg, The
world Saves Abu Simbel (1968).Picture Caption[s]The
temple at Abu Simbel before it was moved in 1968 to save it from being flooded by the High Dam at
Aswan. Built during the reign of Ramses II (1304-1237 BC), from the solid sandstone cliffs, the
temple was dedicated chiefly to Re-Harakhti, god of the rising Sun. (Photo
Explorer)
