Temples of Abu Simbel in Egypt
Rating: 9,2/10 (3172 votes)  Temples in the city of Ambul Simbel is one of the most famous landmarks of Egypt. There are only two temples - Big and Small. They were carved from sandstone during the time of Ramses II. The Big Temple is dedicated to the Pharaoh himself and the gods Ptah, Ra-Horakhta and Amon, and the Small - to Nefertiti (his wife) and Hathor. The temples were discovered only in 1813. At the entrance There are 4 statues of the pharaoh 20 meters high in the Big Temple. The temple is also famous for its well-preserved inscriptions and images that are important from a historical point of view. There are 365 windows in the temple in total according to the number of days in a year. Every day the rising sun shines through different windows. On September 20, the day Ramses ascended the throne, a curious optical effect is observed - a ray of the sun on this day shines directly into the eye of the pharaoh. There are six statues in front of the entrance to the Small Temple - two statues of the king and one queen on each side. The temples stood until 1970. This year, a dam was built in Nasser, which caused the water level in the lake to rise. The temples were moved higher for three years. They were cut into many blocks, then moved 90 meters higher and reassembled. In addition, blocks cut from the rocks that surrounded these temples were transported here. The cost of the operation to relocate the temples is $ 42 million. Despite the fact that these temples are significantly inferior to the pyramids in Giza in antiquity, the interest of tourists in them is no less.   We also recommend reading Tourism Topic: Temples of Abu Simbel in Egypt. |
