Editing Abu Simbel (section)

===Relocation===
{{Main|International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia}}
[[File:Abusimbel.jpg|thumb|The statue of [[Ramses the Great]] at the Great Temple of Abu Simbel is reassembled after having been moved in 1967 to save it from flooding.]]

In 1959, an international donations campaign to save the [[monument]]s of [[Nubia]] began: the southernmost relics of this ancient civilization were under threat from the rising waters of the Nile that were about to result from the construction of the [[Aswan High Dam]].

[[File:Abu Simbel relocation by Zureks.jpg|thumb|right|A scale model showing the original and current location of the temple (with respect to the water level) at the [[Nubian Museum]], in Aswan.]]

One scheme to save the temples was based on an idea by [[William MacQuitty]] to build a clear freshwater dam around the temples, with the water inside kept at the same height as the Nile. There were to be underwater viewing chambers. In 1962 the idea was made into a proposal by architects [[Jane Drew]] and [[Maxwell Fry]] and civil engineer [[Ove Arup]].<ref>''Fry Drew Knight Creamer'', 1978, London, Lund Humphries</ref>

The salvage of the Abu Simbel temples began in 1964 by a multinational team of archeologists, engineers and skilled heavy equipment operators working together under the [[UNESCO]] banner; it cost some $40&nbsp;million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|40|1964|r=2}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation/year|US}}). Between 1964 and 1968, the entire site was carefully cut into large blocks (up to 30 tons, averaging 20 tons), dismantled, lifted and reassembled in a new location 65 metres higher and 200 metres back from the river, in one of the greatest challenges of archaeological engineering in history.<ref>Spencer, Terence (1966). [https://books.google.com/books?id=CFMEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA32 The Race to Save Abu Simbel Is Won.] [[Life (magazine)|''Life'' magazine]], December 2, 1966.</ref> Some structures were even saved from under the waters of Lake Nasser. Today, a few hundred tourists visit the temples daily. Most visitors arrive by road from [[Aswan]], the nearest city. Others arrive by plane at [[Abu Simbel Airport]], an airfield specially constructed for the temple complex whose sole destination is [[Aswan International Airport]].

The complex consists of two temples. The larger one is dedicated to [[Ra]]-Horakhty, [[Ptah]] and [[Amun]], Egypt's three state deities of the time, and features four large statues of Ramesses&nbsp;II in the facade. The smaller temple is dedicated to the goddess [[Hathor]], personified by [[Nefertari]], Ramesses's most beloved of his many wives.<ref>Fitzgerald, Stephanie (2008). ''Ramses II: Egyptian Pharaoh, Warrior and Builder.'' New York: Compass Point Books. {{ISBN|978-0-7565-3836-1}}</ref> The temple is now open to the public.