i went to abu simbel today, a huge temple complex in the far south of the country only 40 km from the border with sudan. these days it sits at the edge of lake nassar, the largest artificial lake in the world that was created by the aswan dam. however the original abu simbel was be in a spot that is now underwater.
when the dam was constructed, UNESCO instituted a crash program to save the ancient sites that would be submerged by the new lake. they moved the complex, stone by stone, and grafted it into the side of two hills on higher ground.
so is the temple authentic, or is it a reconstruction? either way, imagining the scale of the project was mind boggling--both projects, actually. both the original effort carving it by hand out of the rock 3,200 years ago, and the modern project moving it stone by stone and recreating it so precisely in a different location.
but there was also a problem, another issue of scale: the scale of the crowds that descend on the complex all at once. since the luxor attack1 foreign visitors have to visit the complex by a convoy of buses that is escorted by the police. but that means that everyone arrives at the site at once. the flood of people can easily take away from the experience. the best thing to do is to just look up.
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1-i hope this link works. it seems to be blocked in egypt
