Two years later the Abu Simbel temples, reconstructed 64 metres above their original site, were officially unveiled.

UNESCO: Intangible Cultural Heritage

It was born in Egypt in the 1960s, with the international campaign to save the Nubian monuments and remove the Abu Simbel temples from danger.

UNESCO: MEDIA SERVICES

The temples of Abu Simbel were officially reopened in 1968 while the sacred site they had occupied for more than 3, 000 years disappeared beneath Lake Nasser.

BBC: Abu Simbel: The great temple of Egypt

Last month, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak inaugurated a new visitor's centre at the temple of Abu Simbel, in Upper Egypt, as the south of the country is known.

BBC: Egypt seeks museum design

Perhaps the greatest achievement of all was the preservation of the temples at Abu Simbel.

BBC: Abu Simbel: The great temple of Egypt

Ten of them, including the temple complexes of Philae, Kalabsha and Abu Simbel, were dismantled stone by stone and painstakingly rebuilt on higher ground.

BBC: Abu Simbel: The great temple of Egypt

For over 65 years, from Abu Simbel to Angkor, UNESCO has been at the forefront of world heritage rescue and protection operations.

UNESCO: Indigenous Peoples