Abu Simbel
Travel Guide to Abu Simbel
The Travel Guide to Abu Simbel highlights
the most important places to visit in this area of Egypt and its
significance to the history of Egypt together with Ancient Egyptian
facts and information about Abu Simbel. The location of Abu Simbel
is to the south of Aswan on the western bank of the Nile.
The ancient Egyptian name for
the original site of Abu Simbel was Meha.
Places to Visit and
tour in Abu Simbel
The most famous places to visit in,
or near,
Abu Simbel are as follows:
The Rock Temple of
Ramses the Great at Abu Simbel
One of the most famous monuments in
Egypt is the Rock Temple of Ramses at Abu Simbel which features the four
colossal seated statues of Ramses II (aka Ramses the Great) each of
which were cut 69 feet high as the impressive facade to the temple. The
four statues depict the Pharaoh Ramses the Great seated on a throne. One
of these great statues was damaged from the knees up by an earthquake.
Smaller statues and carvings surround the main four statues of Ramses
and depict members of the royal family, including Queen Nefertari, and
Ancient Egyptian Gods. Decorations inside the temple depicted his
victories over the Syrians and the Libyans. Ramses the great built a
total of seven temples at Abu Simbel but the "Temple of Ramesses,
beloved of Amun" was the greatest.
The "Temple of
Ramesses, beloved of Amun" at Abu Simbel
The full title given to the massive
rock temple was "Temple of Ramesses, beloved of Amun". However, the
temple celebrates the Pharaoh Ramses the Great and not the god Amum. The
Egyptian god Amun was worshipped many miles away at Karnak. Ramses chose
the remote site of the temple so that the god would not be offended. He
also chose the site for this massive and impressive monument as it would
be seen by all travellers and traders bringing goods from Nubia and the
Sudan.
Abu Simbel - the
Relocation of the great rock temple
The building of the Aswan High Dam which
was completed in 1970 would have submerged the great monuments under
water. The fabulous rock temples of Abu Simbel were therefore
transported 180 metres inland to an artificially built rock which was 64
metres higher than the original. The
massive rock temple was cut into pieces weighing 30 tons and reassembled
in its new location. For Additional facts and information about this
area please click the following link:
Aswan
Dam
Location of Abu Simbel
The location of Abu Simbel is to the south of Aswan on the western bank
of the Nile.
Our Egypt travel guide
differentiates between the sites of Upper and Lower Egypt. Ancient Egypt
originally consisted of two parts which were called Upper and Lower
Egypt. Abu Simbel is located in
Upper Egypt.
Upper Egypt was the valley area in the South and Lower Egypt was the
delta area in the North. Upper and Lower Egypt each had their own
governments and rulers. These two parts Egypt were eventually united in
3118BC. Plan your Tour of Egypt around the most important and ancient
sites of Upper, including Abu Simbel, using our travel guide.
Abu Simbel
Each section of this Egyptian website addresses all topics and
provides interesting facts and information about the Golden Age of
Egypt. The Sitemap provides full details
of all of the information and facts provided about the fascinating subject of Egypt, the Ancient Egyptians and of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun, King Tut.
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