"I dislike feeling at home when I am abroad"- A travel quote
Abu Simbel is a village in the southern Egypt in the Egyptian part of Nubia near the Sudan border and this small village is famous for the two temples built by the Egyptian king Ramesses II.
The temples are not only historically famous but have a fascinating story about their relocation. During the construction of the famous Aswan dam, planned in 1960, a large area was to be flooded by the construction of Lake Naseer.
Apart from few other smaller areas of archaeological interest, there were two important temples namely the temples of Ramesses II and the temple of Philae, which were located in the areas likely to be inundated by the waters of Lake Naseer.
UNESCO launched an international appeal to save the monuments in Nubia and appealed to its member countries to come forward and help. As many as 50 countries collaborated and made possible the unbelievable rescue of these temples.
The Ramesses temples built in 1265 BC consisted of two parts. The bigger temple was dedicated to deified King Ramesses II and their deities god Amun, Ra-Horakhty and Ptah. The smaller temple lay just to the north of main bigger temple and was dedicated to Ramesses' most beloved of his many wives, queen Nefertari and the deity goddess Hathor.
It was decided in 1963 to relocate both these temples. The temple of Ramesses II had four huge statues of the king in sitting posture , each 66 feet high, in the facade and it required advanced engineering heroics to relocate them at a higher level.
A relocation site was chosen 200 feet above the existing site. Interestingly the entire temple including the giant statues were shifted by cutting the entire structure into more than 16000 smaller blocks, each properly numbered and reassembled in exactly the same proportions.
Even the planetary orientation was taken into consideration. Twice in a year on 22nd february and 22nd october, the early rays of sun at exactly 6.2O AM, used to reach the statues of two dieties and of the king Ramesses II, located in the inner sanctuary. Marvellously the new placement also has the same event twice a year on same days. The completely relocated temple was inaugurated on 22 september 1968.
Temple of Ramesses II
Hats off to the perseverence, technolgy and human skill, one cannot make out that the temple has beeen remade as the joints are completely imperceptible to the naked eye.
The temple is located about 240 kms from Aswan, the site of the famous Dam. As the road to Abu Simbel has to go through a large stretch of uninhabited desert, there is risk of cars or coaches being waylaid and looted by the robbers. Hence as a rule the cars as well as coaches move in a caravan with a police jeep in the front and also at the tail end.
Another interesting thing is the popularity of superstar Amitabh Bachchan in Egypt. The Egyptians, especially the youth are so enamoured by Amitabh Bachhan that whenever they seen an Indian tourist, they try to attract their attention for shopping, by calling Amitabh Bachchan's name.
Temple of queen Nefertari
Interesting
ReplyDeleteThank you for the information. 😊
ReplyDeleteThanks Kriti.
DeleteQuite interesting! You are making us visit the marvels virtually.. awesome work 😍
ReplyDeleteThanks. Let us see when this virtual tour of yours turns into a real one.
DeleteVery interesting and informative!
ReplyDeleteThanks.
DeleteNice blog. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for expressing your views.
DeleteA rare gem amongst the wanderlust travel pictures of yours. The detailing history related to giant monument is enriching.
ReplyDeleteThanks Nirmal. Comments coming from a seasoned traveller are always encouraging.
Delete