Hussein Bicar world conditions. Elegant in his simplicity, Bicar explained, “To understand is to appreciate”. Amongst the most magnificent works of Bicar is the set of paintings done by Bicar for "The Eighth Wonder", a documentary narrating the tale of Ramses II Temple in Abu Simbel in southern Egypt. While the construction of The Aswan Dam, begun in 1960, to stabilize the water supply of Egypt, the flooding which would result threatened the existence of irreplaceable ancient temples. Such temples are a unique legacy, not only to Egypt but to humanity as a whole. Thus, many countries came forward to participate in
Egyptian temple enormous obelisks, were removed by outside governments and private collectors. This wave of Egyptomania resulted in the rediscovery of temple sites such as Abu Simbel, but artifacts and even whole temples were often treated with great carelessness. The discoveries of the period made possible the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs and the beginnings of Egyptology as a scholarly discipline. Nineteenth-century Egyptologists studied the temples intensively, but their emphasis was on collection of artifacts to send to their own countries, and their slipshod excavation methods often did further harm. Slowly the antique-hunting attitude toward Egyptian monuments gave way to careful study and