Abu Simbel bringing visitors to the Abu Simbel temples, but it also has importance for the irrigation projects in the parts of the desert situated near the reservoir. Lake Nasser is navigable, so Abu Simbel is also reachable from the lakeside. A few cruise ships navigate the lake upstream of the Aswan Dam. The village is reachable by air via the Abu Simbel Airport. Abu Simbel is located in one of the warmest and driest regions of Egypt. In the summer months, the high temperatures are easily 40 °C on average. Despite the great temperature differences between day and night, temperatures in
Great and Small Temples of Abu Simbel is roughly on an East-West axis. However, it is slightly off this axis in order to accommodate for this phenomenon. For about twenty minutes every February 22 and October 22, the sun shined through the temple to light up the statues of the gods in the sanctuaries. Some people suggest that these dates correspond to the birth and coronation of Ramesses II. The Small Temple at Abu Simbel was dedicated to the goddess Hathor of Ibshek, the ancient name for an area in present-day Sudan more commonly called Faras (although it is now submerged under Lake Nasser). The Small Temple