A collaboration between Reader’s Digest and Vavin Inc, this short film from 1966 titled “The Race to Save Abu Simbel” depicts efforts to save the Temple Abu Simbel by moving it farther up the banks of the Nile when it is threatened by impending flooding. The film is narrated by famed American writer, actor, broadcaster, and traveler best remembered for publicizing T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia), Lowell Thomas who at the end of the film appeals to the audience to donate funds to the rebuilding efforts of the temple. Abu Simbel are two massive rock-cut temples in the village of Abu Simbel in Aswan Governorate, Upper Egypt near the border with Sudan. The Complex is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the “Nubian Monuments.” The temples were originally carved out of the mountainside in the 13th century BC during the 19th Dynasty reign of the Pharaoh Rameses II. The complex was relocated in its entirety in 1968 under the supervision of a Polish archaeologist, Kazimierz Michałowski, from the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology University of Warsaw, on an artificial hill made from a domed structure, high above the Aswan High Dam reservoir. The relocation of the temples was necessary or they would have been submerged during the creation of Lake Nasser, the massive artificial water reservoir formed after the building of the Aswan High Dam on the River Nile. The project was carried out as part of the UNESCO Nubian Salvage Campaign

Nile River river steamer cruise ship in Aswan, Upper Egypt near the border with Sudan sails past the Temple of Abu Simbel – narration by Lowell Thomas begins (0:12). Aerial view of the Nile (0:28). Scenes of flooding along the Nile (0:36). Illustration of a portion of a globe featuring the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean Sea and continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa (0:55). Camera zooms into globe illustration featuring Nubia or Egypt/ The United Arab Republic (as it was referred to at the time), the Sinai Peninsula, the Red Sea, and the Nile River (0:58). Shots of the Nile and of the temple’s exterior (1:06). Camera pans the exterior of the temple (1:15). Shots of the temple’s interior made up of statuary and carve painting (1:30-2:02). Illustration explaining proposed plan for preserving the temple through the use of hydraulic jacks (2:03). Illustration of second plan (2:18). Engineers from different global corporations arrive to try and move the temple to above sea level (2:37). Interior of the temple as it prepares to be moved (2:57). The job is taking too long – emergency action of building a CofferDam begins (3:14). Close-up of a DEMAG crane (3:26). Temporary housing for laborers (3:57). CofferDam is completed (4:05). Phase two of the project begins (4:15). Call for funds to help with rebuilding to be sent to Reader’s Digest HQ in Pleasantville, New York (5:55).

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com