Nubia is a geographic region in the south of Egypt and the north Sudan. A number of important sites are located in the region between Aswan and Abu Simbel, and in 1979, ten were added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List. These are, from south to north: The temples of Ramesses II in Abu Simbel; Amada; Wadi Sebua; Kalabsha; Philae (Island of Agilkia); the ancient granite quarries and unfinished obelisk in Aswan; the Islamic Cemetery; the ruins of the ancient city of Elephantine; the Monastery of St Simeon; and the Old and Middle Kingdom tombs in Aswan (the so-called Tombs of the Nobles).
The construction of the Aswan High Dam in the 1960s threatened these monuments with submersion, but they were all saved thanks to the efforts of an International Campaign launched by UNESCO from 1960 to 1980.
