Located south of the city of Aswan, around Lake Nasser, the Temple of Abu Simbel is one of Egypt;s most treasured symbols. Built by Ramses II, it is a complex formed by two different temples, the first dedicated to Ramesses II himself and the second to his first and favorite wife, Nefertari.

For a long time the temples were buried under the sand of the Sahara desert, but in 1813 the Swiss explorer John Lewis Burckhardt rediscovered them, being the rediscovery complete years later in 1817, by the Italian Giovanni Battista Belzoni.

The temple of Ramses II is the largest in the complex and contains 4 statues at its entrance, which represent the pharaoh himself, and the gods Ra-Harakhty, Ptah and Amun. The reason Ramses is among the gods is because he considered himself a god. In addition, its facade is entirely decorated with hieroglyphics that commemorate the important victory in the Battle of Kadesh, won by the pharaoh. A great highlight is the alignment of the temple with the sun, since its back room is lit up only twice a year, while the rest of the days it remains in the dark. The two dates it receives sunlight are

February 21, the date of Ramses II;s accession to the throne, and October 21, the birth date of the pharaoh. Interestingly, these dates were actually modified with the change of the temple;s location, and today the phenomenon runs on February 22nd and October 22nd. Only 3 of the statues are illuminated, namely Ramses, Ra-Harakhty and Amun.

The reason for the statue of Ptah is that this is the god of darkness, so this statue never received sunlight.

The temple dedicated to Nefertari is smaller, but no less impressive. On its facade are 6 statues and it is dedicated to the goddess Hathor. It is notable in the temple the presence of small statues of Ramses II around the statues, as if protecting his beloved.

The temple of Abu Simbel is an architectural masterpiece and proves the great knowledge that the ancient Egyptians had in architecture, mathematics and astrology. After its rediscovery, to prevent the temple from being flooded by water from the Nasser River, a major work was done with the help of UNESCO between 1964 and 1968 at the cost of about 40 million dollars to move the temple to a height 61 meters higher than its previous location. This work had great international support and in return the Egyptian government donated many temples to countries that helped, examples are the Temple of Debod, in Madrid, or the Temple of Dendur, in New York.

Abu Simbel is a fascinating place where you will be amazed by the grandeur and technology of ancient Egypt and marvel at its beauty.