Aswan, Egypt
Coordinates: 22.337759, 31.626649
The Temple of Nefertari, also known as ” Temple of Hathor” is located in the south of Egypt , 300 kilometers from the city of Aswan , and north of the temple of Ramses II.
Nefertari, also known as Nefertari Meritmut, was an Egyptian queen and the first of the Great Royal Wives (or principal wives) of Ramesses II.
She is one of the best known Egyptian queens, among such women as Cleopatra, Nefertiti, and Hatshepsut.
She was highly educated and able to both read and write hieroglyphs, a very rare skill at the time.
She used these skills in her diplomatic work, corresponding with other prominent royals of the time. Her lavishly decorated tomb, QV66, is one of the largest and most spectacular in the Valley of the Queens.
Nefertari is an important presence in the scenes from Luxor and Karnak. In a scene from Luxor, Nefertari appears leading the royal children.
The greatest honor was bestowed on Nefertari however in Abu Simbel. Nefertari is depicted in statue form at the great temple, but the small temple is dedicated to Nefertari and the goddess Hathor. The building project was started earlier in the reign of Ramesses II, and seems to have been inaugurated by ca year 25 of his reign (but not completed until ten years later).
Conservation
It is part of the Open Air Museum of Nubia and Aswan , declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1979 under the name of Monuments of Nubia from Abu Simbel to File .
As a result of the construction of the Aswan dam in 1964, the Temple of Ramses and that of Nefertari were dismantled to be rebuilt in a nearby area, 65 meters higher and some two hundred meters further away
