Abu Simbel, Egypt - 6 November 2011; the majestic rock-cut temple of Abu Simbel is one of the great sights of the world. When you view it for the first time, the effect is literally breathtaking. Its side temple dedicated to the god Hathor is shown here. Like all the temples in the complex, it wasriginally carved out of the mountainside in the 13th century BC, during the 19th Dynasty reign of the Pharaoh Ramesses II. Hathor was one of the most popular and powerful of the gods of Egypt. She was goddess love, beauty, music, dancing, fertility, and pleasure, as well as the protector of women, though men also worshipped her. Kind of an ancient proto feminist... In 1968,the entire complex had to be moved to its present location to avoid its inundation by Lake Nasser, formed as a consequence of the Aswan High Dam project - a massive and successful feat of engineering which saved this marvel for the world.