Abu Simbel

Leaving Aswan
Arriving at Abu Simbel
Lake Nasser behind me - Reason Temples had to be moved
Inscriptions around the temple


Some paint is still after several thousand years and the temples being under water



Famous Temple entrance
Me in front of Temple
Note smaller statues at the feet of the large statues


Engravings leading into Temple



Hoopoo bird in grass - on right side of picture

15 March 2008

We left the ship at 7:30 AM this morning which meant that getting up by 6:00 AM gave me enough time to get my suitcase out by 6:30 AM and then go downstairs for breakfast. We were driven to the Aswan airport. This time we were permitted to bring water with us. I guess if I had left my batteries and duct tape in my backpack, it would have been acceptable. The flight to Abu Simbel took only about 45 minutes. While it was warm in Abu Simbel, which is just north of the border with Sudan, it didn’t feel that hot.

Abu Simbel is all it is cracked up to be if not more. None of the images have been desecrated, probably owing to the isolation of the site. It was constructed during the reign of Ramses II who ruled between 1200 and 1100 BCE. It had been buried in the sand for several thousand years. Photographs were not permitted inside the temples. The famous one has several interior chambers. One of them had not been completed. One wall had not been touched. The other wall was almost complete except at the end where the drawings were in place, but they had not been carved. In many places there was still paint. I wonder how much the paint was damaged by the flooding of the temple prior to its move to higher ground. The less famous temple is dedicated to Nefritari, the favorite wife of Ramses II. I would like to describe these two temples in more detail, because I was very impressed with its good condition.

I actually blew my four gigabyte card in my camera. Since I had loaded everything on to my computer, I just deleted pictures from previous days.

We had to leave Abu Simbel at noon to fly to Cairo. We arrived here at about four. It was five before we arrived at the Grand Hyatt. I managed to get a shower and some clothes washed before it was time for the lecture given by a professor of a university in Cairo. I found it interesting. One of Egypt’s worst problems is over population. Apparently the government is working on disseminating birth control information and convincing women to use these methods. Apparently religion is not the problem; ignorance is. Since women were not taught to read in the past, written directions wouldn’t work. However things are getting better.

I joined one of the women for dinner and we ate at the Japanese restaurant in the hotel. I am exhausted and want to go to sleep now.