These third world UN stamps are fun. Having the gal to ask outsiders to do for them something they know should be done, but are unwilling to do for themselves. The outsiders, in this case UNESCO then bend over backwards to treat welfare queens as partners because otherwise they will just destroy. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.
I am a little surprised Pakistan was willing to serve as a vehicle for this UNESCO project in Egypt. There is some degree of nervousness of the value of pre Mohammed history in Muslim countries. Remember the shock outside the Muslim world when the Taliban purposely blew up ancient Buddhist statues in neighboring Afghanistan. In the period UNESCO campaigned for funding of the Nubian temples. They don’t publicize who gave and how much. It would be interesting to know Pakistan’s contribution.
Todays stamp is issue A59, a 50 Paisa stamp issued by Pakistan on March 30th, 1964. It was a two stamp issue showing ancient sites in Egypt that they hoped to move so they would not be flooded by Lake Nasser when the Aswan Dam was completed. This stamp shows the Abu Simbel temple to and by Ramses II. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $1.20 unused.
The Abu Simbel temple is a cut from stone temple. It is believed built over a 20 year period from 1264BC to 1244BC after being ordered by Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II. At the time it was the area of Nubia near the modern border between Egypt and the Sudan along the Nile River. The area was important to Egypt for it was the center of gold mining. The temples had fallen into disuse and indeed buried by desert sand by the time of Jesus Christ.
The temples high point was rediscovered by Swiss Orientalist Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in 1813. He convinced Italian explorer Giovanni Battista Belzoni to look further with a team and on his second try he dug an entry into the temple. The name Abu Simbel refers to the nearest Egyptian village.
In 1959, Egypt and Sudan petitioned the UN to do something about the Nubian historic sites that were to be flooded by the waters of Lake Nasser. Rather than directing the waters elsewhere, it was decided to cut most but not all the stone temples into moveable pieces of 20 tons each and reassemble them elsewhere. Some moved as much as 60 miles, but in the case of Abu Simbel it only moved 600 feet to a new location on a built up hill. The expensive undertaking was managed by UNESCO and just this temple cost 40 million dollars in 1960s money to move a short distance. The was an alternate proposal from British Rank Organization filmmaker William McQuitty to build a glass dome over the temple and chambers for under water viewing. McQuitty is best known for his film “A Night to Remember” about the sinking of the Titanic. His proposal went as far as a serious engineering design study.
The UNESCO campaign to save the Nubian temples went on until 1980. Egypt was so happy about what was done that they again put forth their hand palm up and suggested that UNESCO fund a new Nubian History Museum in Cairo. It is possible for a tourist to visit the Abu Simbel. A guarded convoy of tourist buses leaves daily from Aswan. Interesting it requires guards, perhaps Nubia’s present isn’t so wonderful as the past. Well there is always hope for the future.
Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to toast Burckhardt, Belzoni, and McQuitty for their Abu Simbel work. Gosh I should have an Egyptian in there somewhere. Of course, Ramses II! Come again soon for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2020.