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If Ramses II still represents today the archetype of the Ancient Egypt Pharaoh, it is simply because of the four 20 m high stone statues representing him on the frontage of Abou Simbel temple, located on the Nile west bank.
This commanding temple, 33 m high and 38 m long by 35 m large, was built between 1300 and 1233 B.C. Of an unparalleled beauty, the ingenious orientation of the temple with the sun contributed to make the pharaoh sacred. Twice a year, the sun’s rays penetrate down deep inside the sanctuary and lighten the three solar divinities: Amon, Ramses and Re Harakhty, leaving the funeral god, Ptah, in the shadow.
Threatened to be flooded by the Lake Nasser water during the Assouan high dam construction in 1963, the temple was cut in 1 036 blocks and moved to a safe location under the aegis of UNESCO and through the wonders of modern technology.
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