Abu Simbel

A visit to Abu Simbel is one of the great highlights of a visitor’s holiday in Egypt. Often considered the most impressive monument in Egypt after the Great Pyramid, the great temples of Abu Simbel are located in the extreme south of Egypt, a 45-minute flight or a four-hour drive from Aswan.

Built by the Pharaoh Ramses II 30 centuries ago to impress his Nubian subjects of Egyptian power, the façade of the main rock-cut temple is dominated by four colossal statues of the king, each 20m high, with Nubians, his mother and several of his children at his feet! The site is remarkably well preserved, having been largely covered by sand for many centuries. It was rediscovered by the Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in 1813. In the 1960s, the temple was rescued from the rising waters of Lake Nasser and moved to its present position, which is 65 metres higher than the original site. One of the four statues has partially crumbled, but far from detracting from the temple, it emphasises the antiquity and completeness of the three remaining representations of Ramses.

The second rock-cut temple at Abu Simbel was built to honour Ramses’s wife, Nefertari. It was built in a similar style to the main temple but on a smaller scale and was dedicated to the cow goddess, Hathor. The façade depicts Nefertari on each side of the temple entrance standing between statues of Ramses. It is particularly remarkable as never before had a queen been depicted alongside her husband, albeit on a smaller scale.

Most people visit Abu Simbel when travelling between Cairo and Aswan by air. It is also possible to reach the temples on one of the Lake Nasser Cruises that ply the waters between here and Aswan, visiting the almost-forgotten temples of Lower Nubia en route.