Algeria 1964: Safeguarding of the monuments of Nubia
In 1954, Egypt decided to build the high dam on the Nile near Aswan to produce the electricity necessary for development projects. But the lake of the dam, which would extend for hundreds of kilometers from Egyptian Nubia and Sudanese Nubia, threatened to engulf a large number of pharaonic monuments, including 17 temples, the most famous of which is the Ramses II temple at Abu Simbel.
Egypt has requested international assistance to save the temples by dismantling them stone by stone and rebuilding them in other places adjacent to the place of origin, away from the waters of Lake Dam or in new places.
In 1960, UNESCO launched an international campaign to save the monuments of Nubia, in which thirty countries were involved in providing scientific expertise and material resources for this giant project. To provide the necessary financial means for this project, thirty countries have issued commemorative postage stamps with the words “save the monuments of Nubia”. Their income was used to fund the project. Algeria was one of the participating countries.
