Not to be lost among the sea of offers from various travel agencies, most people attempt to learn about the attractions of Egypt. Now in special editions you can find any information about this country and the reviews of other travelers. One of the iconic places of the country – the temple of Abu Simbel. But not all know about it. Of course, because there are more popular attractions than Abu Simbel. Egypt is primarily famous Giza pyramids and Sphinx statue. But it was to this Church on February 22 and October 22 is going to more than 5 thousand tourists.
Abu Simbel on the map – little town lost in the Sands of Nubia, in Northern Egypt, near the border with Sudan. Its temples carved in the rock, stand on the Western Bank of lake Nasser. The magnificent ensemble was erected in 1244 BC to commemorate the victory of Rameses over the Hittites 2. More precisely, two temples here. Dedicated to the great Pharaoh and the three gods, and small – the goddess Hathor and Ramses favorite wife, the beautiful Nefertari.
Generally, during the reign of Ramses 2 was erected for the five cave temples, but Abu Simbel is considered the most majestic of them. Despite the fact that these temples dedicated to the three gods who were patrons of the Pharaoh's army, they are actually praising Ramses 2, who ruled 67 years in Egypt. During this time he conquered 11 countries. His mummy is kept in the Cairo Museum.
The Entrance to the Great temple faces East. The facade is decorated with four twenty-meter statues of the Pharaoh, which majestically sits on a throne. Archaeologists still wonder portrait likeness and perfect proportions of the sculpture. And all the statues are identical, only one broke off the head during the earthquake. At the feet of the Pharaoh sculptures wives and children, and over the entrance of the temple depicts the God RA.
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The Temple of Ramses 2 consists of four rectangular areas, which are successively reduced. The first room-the most spacious. Its high arch support with square columns, and walls are covered with texts and colored reliefs. There are statues of the Pharaoh in the guise of the God Osiris. This hall was open to all comers. The second could enter only "noble". The third room, which is still less than the previous one, was available only to priests. In the fourth room I could only Pharaoh and his family. There were statues of the gods Harmachis, Amun-RA and Ptah with the persons of the ruler. Everything in the temple speaks to the strength and richness of the Ramses 2: the walls of each hall are decorated with amazing reliefs that tell about the military actions and his life. As depicted on the ceiling of the sun and the Cobra symbolizes the power of the state and just punishment for the guilty before Pharaoh.
But after a few centuries, paint has faded, and the Abu Simbel almost completely swallowed by the Sands of the Sahara. And only in the early nineteenth century in the study of the Hathor temple, a scientist from Switzerland noticed fragments of figures, and after extensive excavation within a few years the temple of Ramses 2 was cleared from sand.
For Most of the year in its halls is dominated by the penumbra, and only during the spring and autumn equinox, which coincide with the dates of birth and coronation of the Pharaoh, you can witness the magnificent spectacle. To see it, crowds of tourists flooded the Egypt these days. At exactly 5 hours and 58 minutes rising sunlight penetrates the temple and began its leisurely journey through its halls. At the end of the beam glides over the shoulder of Amon-RA and Ramses 2's face, lingering for a few minutes. They say that at this point, the Pharaoh begins to smile.
Then, having moved to the statue of Harmachis, sunlight leaves the temple, never touching the statue of Ptah, Lord of the underworld, to whom it is not needed. Of course, there is no mystery, but only a very precise calculation of the Egyptian astrologers and priests.
But in the Church it was another secret that was forgotten. Every morning at dawn it was moans and quiet weeping. For a long time nobody could explain this phenomenon, but scientists managed to solve the mystery. It's all in the cracks in the building, or rather in the air temperature. At sunrise it increased, the cracks widened and started to make that sound. When they are patched, the moaning stopped.
100 metres from the Great temple is a smaller temple at Abu Simbel. It is dedicated to the ancient Egyptian goddess of love Hathor, which was transferred to the features of the Nefertari's eldest and favorite wife of Pharaoh. Wrote about it as a beautiful and intelligent woman. She's the only one in the entire history of Ancient Egypt has received this honor. The small temple looks much more modest and consists of one hall and the sanctuary. On its facade in the niches are statues of Ramses 2 and Nefertari. Artfully designed play of light gives them a special mystique. In the sanctuary there is a sculpture of the goddess Hathor in form of sacred cow, and in front of her, the image of the Pharaoh.
The Complex of Abu Simbel was located at the bend of the Nile, which was very important strategic point. Statue of the Pharaoh was clearly visible from afar, embodying the strength and power of the country. Particularly impressive they look in the morning when the rays of the rising sun painted them in a blood-red color.
In the 60-ies of the last century, the Church faced a new danger. The lake on whose Bank it is situated, could completely flood, and all because of the construction of the Aswan dam on the Nile. It has been many projects to rescue the cultural heritage. Even proposed to build an underwater glass dome over temples. But was made a unique decision to dismantle the building blocks and move it to higher ground. The operation was attended by experts from fifty countries. They spent over 42 million dollars. Four years this area has been cut into individual pieces weighing from 3 to 20 tons which are numbered and transported on an artificial mound.
There they were drilled and filled resinous composition, which was to strengthen the stone. A total of more than a thousand blocks. Collected anew, the temples covered with a concrete cap, and poured on top of stone hill, which is supposed to mimic rocks. But it was done so neatly that it seemed that the temples have stood here for centuries. And splinter was once the head of one of the statues were also moved and accurately placed at the foot of the temple.
Thanks to these works of Abu Simbel was carefully studied by archaeologists and experts from UNESCO, who were impressed by the art of ancient architects. Having carefully studied the base of the structure, experts were surprised to find that the lines of the facade located parallel cracks in the rock, did the temple stable, and the rock acted as a natural support huge statues.
Oxide of iron, used to strengthen the layers of Sandstone, in addition to its primary purpose, gave the stone a variety of bright colors from purple to red and even pink. The result of this operation, the complex was moved 200 m further and 65 m above the lake level and flooding him is no longer threatened.
September 22, Abu Simbel-the temple in Egypt - is again welcoming tourists. The cultural heritage was preserved for posterity and became one of the trademarks of tourism of Egypt.
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Alin Trodden - author of the article, editor
"Hi, I'm Alin Trodden. I write texts, read books, and look for impressions. And I'm not bad at telling you about it. I am always happy to participate in interesting projects."
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