Abu Simbel Egypt

In the 1960s, the construction of the Aswan High Dam threatened to submerge Abu Simbel beneath Lake Nasser. UNESCO coordinated an international rescue operation funded by contributions from 50 countries: between 1964 and 1968, engineers cut both temples into 1,040 blocks weighing up to 30 tonnes each, moved them 65 metres up the hillside and 200 metres back from the original site, and reassembled them precisely enough to preserve the original solar alignment. The operation cost $80 million in 1960s currency and was, at the time, the largest archaeological rescue in history. The mountain behind the temples is now an artificial dome constructed to replicate the original geological context.

This detail – that what you’re visiting is a faithful replica of its original position rather than the original position itself – doesn’t diminish Abu Simbel. It gives it a different kind of significance: a site that exists because the 20th century decided it was worth saving.

The temples were built by Ramses II around 1250 BCE, carved directly into the Nubian sandstone. The Great Temple has four colossal seated statues of Ramses II on the facade, each 20 metres tall, guarding an interior covered in reliefs of military campaigns and religious ceremonies. The smaller Temple of Hathor (not Nefertari as it’s sometimes called) honours Ramses’ wife Nefertari with six large figures on the entrance facade.

The Solar Alignment

Twice a year – on February 22 (traditionally associated with Ramses’ coronation date) and October 22 (his birthday, by some calculations) – the rising sun penetrates through the temple’s entrance and illuminates the inner sanctuary, lighting the statues of Ramses and the gods Ra-Horakhty and Amun while leaving the fourth statue (Ptah, associated with darkness) in shadow. The deliberate alignment required the 1960s engineers to recalculate the geometry of the relocated site precisely; they reportedly got it one day off the original. Thousands of visitors gather for these events; book accommodation at Abu Simbel town well in advance for either date.

Getting There

Abu Simbel is 280 kilometres south of Aswan, near the Sudanese border. The practical options are a 1-hour domestic flight from Aswan (Egyptian Air runs multiple daily flights), or a 4-hour drive from Aswan. Most visitors base themselves in Aswan and do Abu Simbel as a day trip or with an overnight at Abu Simbel’s small hotel, the Seti Abu Simbel Lake Hotel (comfortable, basic, with lake views).

From Aswan itself, the Philae Temple (dedicated to Isis, also relocated in the same period due to the same flooding threat), the Aswan High Dam visitor area, and the Nubian villages are worth time. The combination of Aswan and Abu Simbel makes a natural two-to-three day Nile extension from Luxor.

Entry to Abu Simbel runs around 360 EGP per adult (approximately $12). Open 5am to 6pm. Go at opening or in the afternoon; midday in summer is genuinely hot and the interior temples are busy.