Two of the large statues at the entrance of the Abu Simbel temple in South Egypt

The temple at Abu Simbel in the southern part of Egypt is actually a twin temple, with a temple dedicated to the pharaoh and the smaller one to his wife. This is the entrance to the larger temple, which has 4 huge statues at the entrance. In this photo, you can see 2 of the huge statues along with the upper portion of the entrance to the temple (located in the lower left portion of the photo). The temple at Abu Simbel is very famous for being one of the works undertaken by the great pharaoh Ramesses II, on the river Nile, apparently in the middle of nowhere. The temple was located at a lower level where it was under threat of being submerged by the rising water caused due to the construction of the High Dam at Aswan, and in an engineering feat in the 1960's, was moved to a higher level (the current position of the temple).

The Mysteries of Abu Simbel: Ramesses II	View Larger Map