Abu Simbel Egypt claims the territory of the Wadi Halfa Salient up to the 22nd parallel in the south. The nearest city, Wadi Halfa, is located 65 kilometers southwest of Abu Simbel in Sudanese territory, on the east bank of Lake Nubia, the Sudanese name of Lake Nasser. The city was, like the Temple of Abu Simbel, relocated onto higher ground due to the flooding caused by the filling of the reservoir. Abu Simbel is linked to the governorate capital of Aswan by a road that passes west of Lake Nasser, through the Libyan Desert. It is used predominantly by tour buses
Great and Small Temples of Abu Simbel from soldiers on campaigns that span from the Greco-Roman period to the British suppression of uprisings in Sudan present an interesting picture of the people who passed that way. Next to Ramesses II’s legs are eleven other, much smaller figures of family members, including his wife, Nefertari; his mother, Queen Tuya; and some of his children. Since scale in Egyptian art was meant to show relative importance, it is clear that Ramesses II is the main focus of the temple. In Egyptian temples, gods were typically depicted as exiting from their shrines. Above the entrance to the Great Temple at