Abu Simbel is an architectural wonder in Egypt. The two great temples carved out of stone are situated in an artificial mountain beside the Aswan Dam. From the 13th century BC to the 1960s it was beside the River Nile, but when the dam was proposed to bring much needed water supplies to the area, UNESCO took the two temples apart and rebuilt them above the water level. A fascinating backdrop to the start of a double Theta Sigma adventure.

Europeans rediscovered them as a lost wonder of Egypt in the early 19th century and the main part of this first story is set then, at the time when they were an attraction for rich westerners touring North Africa as an alternative to the usual Grand Tour of Europe. The likes of Lord Marley would have been typical of the visitors, though hopefully not all of them would be as nasty as him.

I first heard of the temples from the film “Mummy Returns”. In the DVD commentary Stephen Sommers, the director, talks about how they had to use CGI for the temple because of them being moved. This struck me as such an unusual thing that I looked it up on the internet to find out more. There is a wealth of information and it was a joy to research.

These are a few sites about Abu Simbel.

http://whc.unesco.org/sites/88.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Simbel

http://homepage.powerup.com.au/~ancient/abus.htm

http://touregypt.net/abusimbel.htm

http://witcombe.sbc.edu/sacredplaces/abusimbel.html