Aug. 8 – Flew to Abu Simbel near the Sudan border, first class (unauthorized)! Yeah Brent!

Abu Simbel is the site of two temples built by Ramses II in ancient Nubia, where he wished to demonstrate his power and his divine nature. Four colossal statues of him sit in pairs flanking the entrance of the main temple. The head and torso of the statue to the left of the entrance fell during ancient times, as a result of an earthquake.

Nearby is the Temple of Hathor which was dedicated by Ramses II to Hathor the goddess of love & music and his wife Nefertari as the deified queen. The facade, resembling a pylon, has six standing colossal statues. On each side of the entrance, two statues of Ramses flank one of Nefertari dressed as Hathor. Smaller statues of their children in turn, flank the colossal statues.

In 1964 an international project was begun to save the temples from inundation by Lake Nasser, the reservoir of the Aswan High Dam. In a remarkable engineering feat, the temples were cut apart and, in 1968, reassembled on a site 64 m above the river.

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