Views of the World, Rock Temple at Abu Simbel, Egypt

The  temples at Abu Simbel were carved along the upper Nile, in the province of Nubia, during the rein of Ramses the Great.  It took around 24 years and is thought to have been finished around 1265 B.C.   Eventually, it would disappear, buried by blowing desert sand.  It was rediscovered during an 1813 expedition led by Swiss Orientalist, Jean-Louis Burkhardt.  With the construction of the Asswan High Dam, the temples at Abu Simbel were in danger of being lost under the waters of Lake Nasser.  An international team of engineers disassembled the temples, and reassembled them under  artificial hills.  Work was finished in 1968.

I'll be leaving these cards for the next month or so.  Click on Views of the World in labels to see more cards from the series.