Abu Simbel temples one of the greatest challenges of archaeological engineering in history. Some structures were even saved from under the waters of Lake Nasser. Today, a few hundred tourists visit the temples daily. Guarded convoys of buses and cars depart twice a day from Aswan, the nearest city. Many visitors also arrive by plane at an airfield that was specially constructed for the temple complex. The complex consists of two temples. The larger one is dedicated to Ra-Harakhty, Ptah and Amun, Egypt's three state deities of the time, and features four large statues of Ramesses II in the facade. The smaller temple
Environmental issues in Egypt New York. One of the largest environmental pressures on Abu Simbel is tourism and its associated issues. Landscaping conducted in order to make the site seem more presentable in its new clifftop home has damaged the delicate sandstone rock face. Landscapers brought in sand, which blew in the wind and almost eroded a face of Nefertari on the temple, one of the wives of Ramses II. In an attempt to solve this problem, grass was planted around the base of the temples. Watering the grass also damaged the site by raising the humidity levels in the sandstone. People are often