| Temple of Ramesses II |
The New Kingdom pharaoh Ramesses II (ruled 1279-1212 BCE) embarked on many monumental building projects including his Great Temple at Abu Simbel in the south of Egypt. The temple was carved out of a hillside next to the Nile and dedicated to the gods Amun, Ptah and Re-Horakhty. However, it was also a tribute to the power and military might of Egypt and the divine pharaoh himself.When the High Dam was built at Aswan, 280 kilometers down-river, the Abu Simbel temples were threatened by the rising water of Lake Nasser. In a remarkable operation organized by UNESCO in the 1960s, the massive temples were cut and rebuilt in an artificial hill on higher ground nearby.
