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It is a part of the Nubian Monuments UNESCO World Heritage Site, which runs from Abu Simbel downriver as far as Philae .

The twin temples were carved out of the mountainside by Pharaoh Ramses II in the 13th century BC to intimidate his Nubian neighbors and as a lasting monument to himself and his queen Nefertari, commemorating his alleged victory at the Battle of Kadesh.

Relocation

Between 1964 and 1968, the entire site was dismantled and reassembled in a new location – 65 m higher and 200 m back from the river – to save the temples from the rising water levels caused by the construction of the Aswan High Dam.