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
Environmental issues in Egypt like Abu Simbel. Abu Simbel is a monument to Ramses II built of sandstone, and comprises two temples to gods of the Ancient Egyptian pantheon. Emergency archaeological digs and projects were conducted to retrieve as much as possible from these sites that have been so well preserved by the arid climate. Abu Simbel itself was cut into pieces and moved to a cliff face above the new water level of the Nile above the dam. It now stands 60 meters above where it originally stood, on a cliff overlooking Lake Nasser. Another well-known monument moved during the rescue mission was