The Egyptian king Ramses II .

Abu Simbel, the site of the two temples built by the Egyptian king Ramses II (reigned 1279-13 BC), which is now located in Aswan Governorate in southern Egypt. The region was in antiquity on the southern border of Pharaonic Egypt, facing Nubia. The four colossal statues of Ramses in front of the main temple are stunning examples of ancient Egyptian art. Through a complex engineering achievement in the 1960s, the temples were rescued from the high waters of the Nile due to the construction of the Aswan High Dam.