Abu Simbel is named after Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egyptian president from 1954 to 1970. At the time of Ramses II. the southern border of the realm of the Pharaohs was located near the two cataracts. The construction of the Abu Simbel temple compound there was meant to demonstrate the power and eternal supremacy of Egypt with respect to the tributary Nubia. The new dam flooded all of Lower Nubia, the inhabitants became homeless and were mostly resettled in the areas of Aswan and Kom Ombo. Only in Abu Simbel, a new village developed with hotel and airport. Due to a lack of
Architectural sculpture is based mainly on the religious monuments that have survived since antiquity, which are carved stone with post-and-lintel construction. These religious monuments dedicated to the gods or pharaohs were designed with a great deal of architectural sculpture inside and out: engaged statues, carved columns and pillars, and wall surfaces carved with bas-reliefs. The classic examples of Egyptian colossal monuments (the Great Sphinx of Giza, the Abu Simbel temples, the Karnak Temple Complex, etc.) represent thoroughly integrated combinations of architecture and sculpture. Obelisks, elaborately carved from a single block of stone, were usually placed in pairs to flank the entrances to