Great and Small Temples of Abu Simbel flanking the central aisle. The sanctuary contains four statues representing the four gods the temple is dedicated to; Ptah, Amun-Re, Ramesses II and Re-Horakhty. Each god is the patron god of a different powerful city of Ancient Egypt: Ptah was worshipped in Memphis, Amun-Re is associated with Thebes, Ramesses II would represent his own capital of Pi Ramesses in the delta and Re-Horakhty was the patron god of Heliopolis. The Great Temple of Abu Simbel was built so that at certain times of the year, the sun shines directly through the temple into the sanctuary. Like most Egyptian temples, it
Lotfy El Tanbouli resident archaeologist during the transferring of the two temples of Abu Simbel to higher ground (1964–1968). He organized the first Negro festival in Dakar, the African art festival in Lagos, the exhibition of Ramses II in Paris (1976) and the ancient Egyptian Queens and Kings exhibition in Japan (1978). The Egyptian section of the military museum in Cairo and Port Said was organized by Tanbouli. Publications: The complete scientific publication collection: The small temple of Abu Simbel (two parts). The scientific collection of the temples: Garf Hussein Temple, the second, the third and the fourth parts. The scientific booklets collection: