Behold the Temple of Ramses II, ablaze in colour, as it was in the day of Egypt's longest-reigning Pharaoh. Behold the temple six centuries later, hidden in the sands of Nubia, as it was when discovered by explorers in the early 19th century. Then see this same temple, along with the temple of Queen Nefertari, dismantled and reborn on the banks of the newly-formed Lake Nasser.




It is all part of a nightly show that has been staged on an experimental basis at Abu Simbel's temple complex since 1 April. For the first time since the salvage of Nubia's monuments, the temple is again in the limelight with a newly-fashioned "sound-and-light" show, expected to be officially inaugurated by President Hosni Mubarak. 




Sound-and-light shows have long been offered at historical monuments like the pyramids and Karnak Temple, but the new programme at Abu Simbel is a more modern and high-tech version of the popular tourist attraction. "This is the first time ever that modern technology has been installed in an ancient monument," said Mohamed Shafiq, managing director of the Egyptian Sound and Light Company (ESLC). The new programme uses computer simulation to depict the history of the monuments, as well as the period in which this greatest and best-known of kings, Ramses II, lived.
"It features his coronation and his battles -- particularly his victory in the famous battle of Kadesh, with details of the huge battle relief on one wall of the temple," said Shafiq. "It also features his marriage ceremony, the construction of his temple in Nubia and its official opening in his reign."
Views of Ramses II's other temples in Nubia, including those of Al-Sebou, Dakka and Al-Maharaqa, will also be shown. The programme includes conversations between Ramses and the sun-god, Re -- believed to be his spiritual father -- as well as interactions with his wife, Queen Nefertari, and his mother.
"Most of the reliefs and engravings on the inner walls of the temple will be projected on the temple facade, so that the maximum number of spectators can see them," said Shafiq, explaining that the projections will be the same size and width of the temple facade -- 30 metres high and 60 metres wide.
Using computer simulation, both temples are shown with their statues intact (some are partly destroyed today) and in their original colours. The four rock-cut colossi of Ramses take on hues of blue, red and yellow long worn away by centuries of sandstorms.
The same goes for the nearby temple of Nefertari, said to be the only monument in ancient Egypt built by a Pharaoh for his wife. For those interested in Queen Nefertari, her recently-restored tomb on the Theban necropolis will be open to a limited number of tourists each day.
During the show, the temple briefly disappears and reemerges from the surrounding desert, appearing as it did when it was discovered in the early 19th century, half-covered with sand. Today the temple complex draws tourists from around the world, many of whom couple a visit with a cruise on Lake Nasser.
The lake was formed by the Nile backwaters caused by the construction of the Aswan High Dam, completed in 1971. When it became clear that the temples at Abu Simbel would be inundated by the rising waters, a UNESCO-sponsored salvage operation dismantled the temples and reassembled them on a higher ground that feasibility studies are being carried out to install similar systems at the temples of Dendara, Luxor and Edfu, as well as the Salah eddin Citadel offshore Taba.
Spectators will be seated in a limestone amphitheater erected in front of Nefertari's temple. Audience members will be provided with headphones that provide translations into nine languages: Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Russian,Spanish and Chinese.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y4U4q-P4jA