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Salvage Operation of Abu Simbel Temple

The rescued Nubian temples were moved and re-assembled in new locations: the  temples of Philae on the island of Agilika, near the old Aswan Dam ; the temples of Beit al-Wali,  Kalabsha and the kiosk of Qertassi a few hundred meters south of the High Dam; the temples of Wadi El-Sebuâ, Dakka and Maharraqa, 140 km south of the High Dam; the temples of Amada, Derr and the tomb of  Pennut, 180 km from the High Dam ; and the two temples of Abu Simbel, 270  km  from  the  High  Dam. Four  Nubian  temples  were offered to countries that had provided significant assistance in the salvage operation: the temple of El-Lessiya to Italy; that of Debod to Spain the temple of Taffa to the Netherlands; and the temple of Dendur to the United States. Other monuments were offered to  other  participating countries such as France, Poland, Germany, etc.

Several schemes had been presented to save the temples of Abu Simbel The one which was selected in 1963 had been submitted by a Swedish company called VBB. The work cost nearly 40 million USD. It took one year (August 1965 - July 1966) to cut the two temples into 1042 enormous blocks weighing over 15000 tons. The blocks were then re-assembled around a concrete superstructure, surrounded by a dome to mimic the topography on which the temple was originally located, over 200 m north and 65 m above its original location. The new site was inaugurated on September 22, 1968, but work on the final elements lasted until 1972.

The Great Temple of Abu Simbel was completely carved out of the rock. Its facade, trapezoidal in form to mimic the pylon, is preceded by a terrace decorated with a series of  upright  statues  of  Horus  and Ramses II. The  facade is adorned with four colossal statues carved into the rock representing Ramses II seated and looking eastward. Around the king’s legs are statues of queens, princesses and princes. The facade is  dominated by a row of baboons greeting the rising sun. Above the entrance is a niche containing a statue of hawk-headed god Ra-Horakhty. The entrance leads to a large hall, the ceiling of which rests  on two  rows  of  four  Osirian  pillars. In  this  hall,  the  reliefs  are exceptionally  well  preserved. The eastern reliefs  represent two nerely symmetric scenes of the Pharaoh smiting his  enemies. On the northern wall, one can admire a detailed composition of the famous Battle of Qadesh, in which Ramses II  confronted  the  Hittites in the fifth year of his reign. As for the scenes of the southern wall, they show, from left to right, the king on his chariot attacking an Asian fortress, killing  a  Libyan enemy, and, finally, triumphant, atop his chariot. Off of the grand hall are a series of rooms called « treasure  rooms». Most likely, it was here that the most precious articles of the temple had been stored. The  back door of the hall leads to a room with four pillars. The north and south walls of this room are decorated with scenes of worship of the divine boats. It then leads to a rectangular vestibule containing three sanctuaries. In the middle one, four statues are carved into the rock representing, from left  to  right,  Ptah,  Amon-Ra, Ramses II and Ra-Horakhty. As Amelia Edwards, who visited the site in 1874, noticed for the first time, the three statues on the right are completely illuminated by rays of the sun from the entrance of the temple on October 21 and February 21 every year (Currntly on October 22 and February 22).

The small temple of Abu Simbel is located 150 m to the north of the Great Temple. Its facade, 12 meters high, is decorated  with six  colossi,  each  reaching  nerely 10 meters high: four represent Ramses II and two represent  his royal wife, Nefertari, to whom the temple  is  dedicated.  Statues of  the  royal  couple’s  children  are carved on both sides of their legs : the princes on the king’s side, and the princesses on the queen’s. The entrance leads to a hall with six Hathorian pillars. Its walls are  adorned with scenes of offerings and worship to the deities honored in the  temple. To the west of the hall are three doors  leading to a vestibule from which  the  sanctuary is  accessed.  The latter is decorated on the back wall with a sculpture of the cow goddess Hathor protecting Ramses II.

The temples of Abu Simbel were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1979, and they enjoy  special  treatment  in terms of conservation and preservation.  You too can help us to protect these two prestigious historical monuments by respecting these guidelines.

Stages of the transfer of Abu Simbel Temples:

View  from  the Nile  of the Small Temple on its  original  site (old site) 


In November,  1964, a steel culvert through the sandfill in front  of the Great Temple waserected, to form an  access to the temple rooms

 

Dismant'ing  of the Hypostyle  Hall  (Great Temple)

 

The originial site after the process of cutting the temple' stones

 

-Using saws in the cutting process

 

Queen Nefertari as now temporarilyosened from her place at the leg of her royal consort

 

The statue of Ramses the Great


 
Pharaoh's knees being lifted after being cut loose

 

In February 1966 the dismantling of the temples was not far from completion

 

On arrival at the Storage Area, every block is carefully  lifted by a gantry crane and moved to its provisional place while  awaiting re-erection

 

Pharaoh regains his face

 

Behind the re-erected statues of King Ramesse the first arch element of the great dome above the temple rooms is under construction

 

Sky view of the Great Temple

 

The two Abu Simbel temples as they can now be seen from Lake Nasser on their new sites

 

When approaching the Great Temple, the visitor  feels almost overwhelmed by its beauty and grandeur