Smaller statues and carvings surround the main four statues of Ramses and depict members of the royal family, including Queen Nefertari, and Ancient Egyptian Gods. Decorations inside the temple depicted his victories over the Syrians and the Libyans. Ramses the great built a total of seven temples at Abu Simbel but the "Temple of Ramesses, beloved of Amun" was the greatest.

The "Temple of Ramesses, beloved of Amun" at Abu Simbel
The full title given to the massive rock temple was "Temple of Ramesses, beloved of Amun". However, the temple celebrates the Pharaoh Ramses the Great and not the god Amum. The Egyptian god Amun was worshipped many miles away at Karnak. Ramses chose the remote site of the temple so that the god would not be offended. He also chose the site for this massive and impressive monument as it would be seen by all travellers and traders bringing goods from Nubia and the Sudan.

Abu Simbel - the Relocation of the great rock temple
The building of the Aswan High Dam which was completed in 1970 would have submerged the great monuments under water. The fabulous rock temples of Abu Simbel were therefore transported 180 metres inland to an artificially built rock which was 64 metres higher than the original. The massive rock temple was cut into pieces weighing 30 tons and reassembled in its new location. For Additional facts and information about this area please click the following link:

Aswan Dam

Location of Abu Simbel
The location of Abu Simbel is to the south of Aswan on the western bank of the Nile. Our Egypt travel guide differentiates between the sites of Upper and Lower Egypt. Ancient Egypt originally consisted of two parts which were called Upper and Lower Egypt. Abu Simbel is located in Upper Egypt. Upper Egypt was the valley area in the South and Lower Egypt was the delta area in the North. Upper and Lower Egypt each had their own governments and rulers. These two parts Egypt were eventually united in 3118BC. Plan your Tour of Egypt around the most important and ancient sites of Upper, including Abu Simbel, using our travel guide.

Abu Simbel
Each section of this Egyptian website addresses all topics and provides interesting facts and information about the Golden Age of Egypt. The Sitemap provides full details of all of the information and facts provided about the fascinating subject of Egypt, the Ancient Egyptians and of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun, King Tut.