Abu Simbel temples Abu Simbel temples The Abu Simbel temples are two massive rock temples at Abu Simbel (), a village in Nubia, southern Egypt, near the border with Sudan. They are situated on the western bank of Lake Nasser, about 230 km southwest of Aswan (about 300 km by road). The complex is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the "Nubian Monuments", which run from Abu Simbel downriver to Philae (near Aswan). The twin temples were originally carved out of the mountainside in the 13th century BC, during the 19th dynasty reign of the Pharaoh Ramesses II. They serve
Abu Simbel summer seldom fall below 20 °C. Winters are mild with highs around 25 °C, when temperatures can sometimes fall below 10 °C at night. Precipitation is so rare here that it is impossible to state a "rainy season" for Abu Simbel. In the past, Abu Simbel was located on the west bank of the Nile between the first and second Cataracts of the Nile. Cataracts are rapids caused by boulders or rock sills; they were only passable with difficulty by Nile ship traffic, especially at baseflow. Today both cataracts near Aswan and Wadi Halfa are covered by Lake Nasser, which