Abu Simbel temples’ 200th anniversary of discovery to be celebrated

CAIRO – 13 September 2017: Head of the General Authority of Culture Palace Ashraf Amer arrived in Aswan on Monday to step up the preparations for the international celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the discovery of the two temples of Ramses II at the tourist city of Abu Simbel, which will be held in the upcoming period.

Amer also visited Aswan Cultural Palace to prepare its garden for a technology club, theater and exhibitions.

The two temples were discovered by Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in 1813 during his travel to Nubia.

Abu Simbel is the site of the two temples built by the Egyptian king Ramses II to demonstrate his political clout and divine backing to ancient Nubians. On each side of the temple, sits two statues of the pharaoh carved into a sandstone cliff overlooking Nile’s second cataract.

In the early 1960s, UNESCO moved the temple to higher ground funded by more than 50 countries, when the building of the Aswan High Dam caused Lake Nasser to fill and inundate the area, causing the sun to now strike a day later than originally planned.
Consequently, a ceremony is organized at the foot of the temples to coincide with the sun’s alignment on the face of the statue of Ramses II within the main temple.