Abu Simbel

1 Abu Simbel (March 17). Note the lines apparently scored in the rocks above the statues. These are joints where the massive structure was reassembled after having been moved.	2 Abu Simbel is 134 air miles from Aswan.	3 Abu Simbel, here seen from the air, is located on the shore of Lake Nassar, a lake created by the building of the new and higher Aswan High Dam. The engine of our jet can be seen to the lower left in this photo.	4 Abu Simbel was relocated from an area where it was threatened by rising waters after the building of the Aswan Dam.	5 Relocation was an international effort to save the massive temple and sculptures. They were cut-up, moved, and reassembled like a giant, 3-D puzzle, at this location built specifically for the purpose. A man-made hill encompasses the massive structures.	6 Zeroing in on Abu Simbel — an enlarged selection from the previous shot from the air. "Zooming in" is a benefit of using a digital camera that takes high definition images, a great benefit of the large image sensors. (See discussion of the camera, a Canon S2 IS with a 5.0 Megapixel image receptor, in the Overview sub-album.
7 Abu Simbel on the shore of the Nile as it appeared before being moved. (Image from The Salvage of the Abu Simbel Temples, referenced on a later slide.)	8 Another view of Abu Simbel prior to moving. The monuments were carved out of a mountain side in the 13th century BC (thats over 3,300 years ago!). (Image from The Salvage of the Abu Simbel Temples, referenced on a later slide.)	9 The reconstruction was artfully accomplished, leaving little trace of the massive structures having been reassembled. The project was sponsored by UNESCO. The "monuments of Nubia" were moved by skilled engineers and heavy equipment operators at a cost of $40 in 1964-1968.	10 Ramses's face is lifted into place. The face weighs 19.6 tonnes, with 4.6 tons of concrete reinforcement in the back. Hewn from solid rock (lime stone), the temple's facade is 33 meters high and 38 m wide. Source: Forskning & Framsteg 1967 issue 3, page 16; Author Per-Olow Anderson.	11 Another view of reconstruction. (Source Harry Green, Private Collection)	12 Yet another view - from the Internet.
13 Another view of the head being lifted into place. The reconstruction of the temples is described in detail in The Salvage of the Abu Simbel Temples, from The International Commission on Monuments and Sites. A copy can be downloaded here as a PDF (4 MB).	14 Hair line cracks can be seen where the monuments were reassembled.	15 That's us in front of Abu Simbel. Note that the face of the rock from which the temple was carved. They were moved to preserve the "look" of the treasure.	16	17 The statues are over 66 feet high.	18
19	20	21	22 A tourist.	23	24 Another tourist. Again, the hair line cracks show where the massive structures were cut apart and reassembled.
25	26 We took a walk behind the hill which was put into place to support and surround the temples.	27 Lake Nassar in the background.	28 A Nubian guard poses with us. Nubia is in southern Egypt, near the Sudan.	29 Parking lot — a guard can be seen, center left; he has a bullet proof shield in front of him.	30 The shield is easier to see in this closeup.
31 Our Nubian bus driver — a friendly fellow. I noticed that Nubians are more black skinned than Egyptians from further north on the Nile.	32 Control tower at the Abu Simbel airport.	33 Airport	34 A plane can be seen landing from in front of Abu Simbel.	35 Bunkers on the fringe of the airport.