Abu Simbel Great Temple

The story behind the place

Ramesses II’s Great Temple at Abu Simbel was cut into rock and given a façade dominated by four seated colossal figures of the king. One lost its upper body in an ancient collapse; the fragments remain part of the surviving scene. When the High Dam project threatened the Nubian monuments, an international campaign relocated the temples to higher ground. The present exterior therefore tells a story of ancient carving and modern conservation together.

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