Located in Aswan, in Southern Egypt, the Abu Simbel is yet another work of wonder that fascinates travellers across the world. It is a complex of two massive rock temples, carved into a mountainside on the west bank of the Nile River. There are many debates regarding the construction of this epic complex. But what remains universally accepted is that the structures were built by Pharaoh Ramses II, sometimes in the 13th century. It is said to have taken twenty long years for the completion of work.
However, despite its grand size, the Abu Simbel complex was covered by desert sand for hundreds of years. It remained forgotten until a Swiss scholar named Jean-Louis Burckhardt rediscovered it in 1813. But he couldn’t dig out an entry to the temple. In 1817, an Italian explorer Giovanni Belzoni managed to enter the temple complex, and reintroduced it to the world.
In 1968, the complex was relocated in its entirety on an artificial hill made from a domed structure above the Aswan High Dam reservoir.