Editing Abu Simbel (section)

{{short description|UNESCO World Heritage Site in southern Egypt}}
{{for|the nearby village|Abu Simbel (village)}}
{{protection padlock|small=yes}}
{{Expand language|topic=|langcode=de|otherarticle=Tempel von Abu Simbel|date=April 2023}}
{{Infobox ancient site
| name = Abu Simbel temples
| native_name = 
| alternate_name = 
| image = [[File:Ramsis, Aswan Governorate, Egypt - panoramio.jpg|250px]]
| alt = 
| caption = The Great Temple of [[Ramesses II]] (left) and the Small Temple of [[Hathor]] and [[Nefertari]] (right).
| map_type = Egypt#Nile
| map_alt =
| map_size = 
| relief = yes
| coordinates = {{coord|22|20|13|N|31|37|32|E|display=inline,title}}
| location = [[Aswan Governorate]], [[Egypt]]
| region = [[Nubia]]
| type = Temple
| builder = [[Ramesses II]]
| built = Approximately 1264 BC
| epochs = [[New Kingdom of Egypt]]
| designation1 = WHS
| designation1_offname = [[International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia|Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae]]
| designation1_type = Cultural
| designation1_criteria = i, iii, vi
| designation1_date = 1979 (3rd [[World Heritage Committee|session]])
| designation1_number = [https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/88 88]
| designation1_free1name = Region
| designation1_free1value = [[List of World Heritage Sites in the Arab States|Arab States]]
}}

'''Abu Simbel''' is a [[historic site]] comprising two massive [[Rock-cut architecture|rock-cut]] [[Egyptian temple|temples]] in the village of [[Abu Simbel (village)|Abu Simbel]] ({{langx|ar|أبو سمبل}}), [[Aswan Governorate]], [[Upper Egypt]], near the border with [[Sudan]]. It is located on the western bank of [[Lake Nasser]], about {{convert|230|km|abbr=on}} southwest of [[Aswan]] (about {{convert|300|km|abbr=on}} by road). The twin temples were originally carved out of the mountainside in the 13th century&nbsp;BC, during the [[Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt|19th Dynasty]] reign of the [[Pharaoh]] [[Ramesses II]]. Their huge external [[rock relief]] figures of Ramesses II have become iconic. His wife, [[Nefertari]], and children can be seen in smaller figures by his feet. Sculptures inside the Great Temple commemorate Ramesses II's heroic leadership at the [[Battle of Kadesh]].

The complex was [[Structure relocation|relocated]] in its entirety in 1968 to higher ground to avoid it being submerged by [[Lake Nasser]], the [[Aswan Dam]] reservoir. As part of [[International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia]], an artificial hill was made from a domed structure to house the Abu Simbel Temples, under the supervision of a Polish archaeologist, [[Kazimierz Michałowski]], from the [[Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology University of Warsaw]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Abu Simbel|url=https://pcma.uw.edu.pl/en/2019/12/11/abu-simbel-2/|access-date=2020-08-05|website=pcma.uw.edu.pl}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

The Abu Simbel complex, and other relocated temples from Nubian sites such as [[Philae]], [[Amada]], [[Wadi es-Sebua]], are part of the [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]] known as the Nubian Monuments.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/88|title=Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae|last=Centre|first=UNESCO World Heritage|website=whc.unesco.org|language=en|access-date=2018-02-24}}</ref>