The site of Abu Simbel has an interesting history. The first part of the name, Abu, means holy man or saint. It began as a temple constructed in Nubia by the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses II. The temple was to symbolize his power and his divine nature. At the entrance of the temple are four statues each measuring 65 feet in height. Although the temple was built primarily as a dedication to the gods of Amon-Ra, Ptah, and Ra-Harakhte, these statues are of the great pharaoh Ramesses II. The statue to the left of the entrance became damaged when, in ancient times, an earthquake is thought to have broken off the head and torso. Directly above the entrance is a statue of Ra-Harakhte, one manifestation of the sun god. The temple faces east so that it welcomes the rising sun. On the upper most level of the entrance is a row of baboon statues.
The entrance of the temple leads to a large hall that has gigantic pillars with figures of Osiris in front of them. This hall leads to a chamber that holds statues of Ptah, Amon-Ra, Ra-Harakhte, and Ramesses II. On two days during the year, once in late February and once in late October, the first beams of sunlight hit this chamber and illuminate the statues. In addition to this temple, Ramesses II had another smaller temple built. It was named The Temple of Hathor, in honor of both the goddess Hathor and his wife Nefertari. Like its larger counterpart, the Temple of Hathor has statues surrounding its entrance. It has six statues standing 33 feet high. There are two of Ramesses with one of Nefertari dressed as Hathor flanking them. Smaller statues of their children flank theirs. Unlike all other Nubian temples, Abu Simbel was left alone and not turned into a church by later religions. It stayed the same until J.L. Burckhardt discovered it in 1813.
After being discovered in 1813 by J.L. Burckhardt, the temples were a tourist attraction for Victorians who were visiting Egypt, even while being partly buried beneath the sand. The temples stayed in the same place until the 1960's. During this time the Aswan High Dam was built. Because of the placement of the dam in relation to the temples, the Egyptian Government found both temples would end up being close to 163 feet underwater when the dam was completed. They then received funds from the United Nations to move the temples to a higher location. The effort cost $39 million. The temples were dismantled and reconstructed 195 feet above where they were originally built. Each temple was rebuilt in the exact relationship as they had been. The broken statue was not even changed, so as to keep the original look. Originally, the temples were carved out of the side of a sandstone cliff. Since the reconstruction moved them to the top, an artificial mountain was created around them.
