EGYPT. River Nile. Lake Nasser. Abu Simbel. The facade of the large temple of Abu Simbel, hewn from a single piece of rock in the 13thC BC to honour Rameses II. This temple complex had to be raised 213 ft (65m) from its original position when the waters of Lake Nasser rose following construction of the Aswan Dam in the 1960s. 2006.