Abu Simbel is the last town in Egypt before reaching the border with Sudan, 20 minutes away. Today we hired yet another driver and guide to take us there. The great temple of Ramses II and the lesser one in honor of his wife Nefertari are located there.
On the shore of Lake Nasser at Abu Simbel
I promise you this is the last of the Egyptian temples that I will subject you to, but this one I had been waiting for since first seeing its images when I was planning this trip, and it was worth the long round trip.
The road there is nothing exceptional, just the barren expanse of the Libyan desert that stretches for thousands of miles, eventually blending into the Sahara and covering practically the entirety of northern Africa.
The temple of Ramses II was discovered at the turn of the 20th century, buried under a mountain of sand. Our guide, Sabir, was exceptionally knowledgeable about the history of the place and is an esteemed Egyptologist. We used the time driving there to learn much about the deities, the pharaohs, and the details of the amazing etchings, which made the visit so much more palatable.
The entrance to Ramses temple built into the mountain
Detail of one statue
One toe of one of these statues is as big as a person
Entrance to Ramses temple
Compare the size of the statues to the people standing
Ramses was married to some 40 wives, but his real love was Nefertari, for whom he had built a special temple next to his. Smaller in scope, it was no less impressive, especially its interior. Both temples were reminiscent of the Indiana Jones movies, with their small rooms and colorful hieroglyphics. I could not use my camera inside since I was not allowed to use the flash, so I used my cell. Unfortunately, when I do that, I have to send the pictures to my e-mail to upload, but the slow internet is not letting me upload them. I succeeded with only two, and I feel bad, because they are really worth seeing.
Nefertari's temple
3,700 years ago!
Partial view of the town of Abu Simbel, 4,000 people.
The town's main minaret
We returned to Aswan in time to enjoy a sunset on the city side before catching our ferry back to the island and the peacefulness of the Kafana guest house.
Ibis resting on a boat by the guesthouse
By St. Michael's Coptic church in Aswan
Two asses in Koti, Elephantine Island
And with this picture of today's cat ends this post. Ciao friends.
Love the ibis.
Fabulous !!!!!!