A man gazes upon felucas (sailboats) moored on the opposite side of the Nile.
T plus 88 - Aswan and Abu Simbel
A journey by road (or rail) here isn't really for those more accustomed to creature comforts. Especially in the summer, when the metal box that is your bus (or train carriage) heats up to 45 degrees celsius, and the aircon WILL fail at some point(s) in your journey. Abu Simbel is pretty much the furthest point of interest from Cairo in Egypt. In fact it is only 40km from the Sudanese border, and getting there involves waking up at 3.00am to catch the once-a-day armed military convoy from Aswan. Yes, it's possible to fly into Aswan/Abu Simbel, but I saw a lot more of Egypt on the 1,100km road/rail journey from Cairo via Luxor.
Aswan in itself isn't much of a big-ticket destination. Most people use it as a forward operating base to explore the surrounding area, and for a day trip to Abu Simbel. But spend a couple of days in Aswan and you'll discover the more idyllic side of life on the Nile. Yes, the touts are still there, but in far fewer numbers than in Cairo or Luxor. And one can avoid them altogether by taking a five minute ferry across to Elephantine Island where you'll get pleasantly lost wandering amongst colourful mud-bricked houses of traditional Nubian villages. And it is precisely because there's not much to do that one can kick-back, relax and not worry about "what I will miss". Ideal conditions to recover from the do-everything-see-everything fervency which one inevitably succumbs to while touring Cairo and Luxor.
Abu Simbel however, IS a big-ticket destination. You just have to choose between spending either time or money getting there. And despite the Government's insistence that all ground transportation to Abu Simbel has to be accompanied by the military, it felt very safe, just like the rest of Egypt. The site is home to the remarkable Great Temple and Small Temple. Both were built during the reign of Ramses II, about 1250 BC. The Great Temple celebrates Ramses' military conquests and the literally larger-than-life monument is adorned with unbelievably detailed wall carvings, as well as the obligatory colossi or giant statues. The Small Temple is unusual, because Ramses II built it in honour of his favourite wife Nefertari. You don't see many monuments dedicated to non-Pharaohs, and this is quite possibly the most magnificent example in Egypt.
Both temples were hewn from the solid rock face of the mountain-side, and incredibly, in the 1960's, the temples were cut into 2,000 individual portable blocks of rock and reassembled 200m away to save them from the rising waters of the High Dam of the Nile which created the world's largest artificial lake. Such was the care invested by the UNESCO-led USD40 million project that it's so difficult to tell today where the rocks were cut. And they even got the orientation of the temples almost exactly spot on - on 22 February and 22 October, the sun streams into the sanctuary of the Great Temple to illuminate the statues of Ramses II and the god Amun - 24 hours later than it has been for the past 3,800 years.
Unfortunately, or fortunately for me - depending on how you view things - I visited Abu Simbel during the worst sandstorm the area has seen in a decade. So everything was cast in an alien and apocalyptic yellow-orange hue, from sunlight reflecting off sand particles swirling in the air. It was one of the weirdest sensations for me, driving in a convoy down a deserted stretch of road in these conditions. A proper end-of-the-world scene, and exactly what a Mad Max movie would look like in real life. Check out some of the pics of "Fury Road" below. No Thunderdome or Tina Turner though.
A journey by road (or rail) here isn't really for those more accustomed to creature comforts. Especially in the summer, when the metal box that is your bus (or train carriage) heats up to 45 degrees celsius, and the aircon WILL fail at some point(s) in your journey. Abu Simbel is pretty much the furthest point of interest from Cairo in Egypt. In fact it is only 40km from the Sudanese border, and getting there involves waking up at 3.00am to catch the once-a-day armed military convoy from Aswan. Yes, it's possible to fly into Aswan/Abu Simbel, but I saw a lot more of Egypt on the 1,100km road/rail journey from Cairo via Luxor.
Aswan in itself isn't much of a big-ticket destination. Most people use it as a forward operating base to explore the surrounding area, and for a day trip to Abu Simbel. But spend a couple of days in Aswan and you'll discover the more idyllic side of life on the Nile. Yes, the touts are still there, but in far fewer numbers than in Cairo or Luxor. And one can avoid them altogether by taking a five minute ferry across to Elephantine Island where you'll get pleasantly lost wandering amongst colourful mud-bricked houses of traditional Nubian villages. And it is precisely because there's not much to do that one can kick-back, relax and not worry about "what I will miss". Ideal conditions to recover from the do-everything-see-everything fervency which one inevitably succumbs to while touring Cairo and Luxor.
Abu Simbel however, IS a big-ticket destination. You just have to choose between spending either time or money getting there. And despite the Government's insistence that all ground transportation to Abu Simbel has to be accompanied by the military, it felt very safe, just like the rest of Egypt. The site is home to the remarkable Great Temple and Small Temple. Both were built during the reign of Ramses II, about 1250 BC. The Great Temple celebrates Ramses' military conquests and the literally larger-than-life monument is adorned with unbelievably detailed wall carvings, as well as the obligatory colossi or giant statues. The Small Temple is unusual, because Ramses II built it in honour of his favourite wife Nefertari. You don't see many monuments dedicated to non-Pharaohs, and this is quite possibly the most magnificent example in Egypt.
Both temples were hewn from the solid rock face of the mountain-side, and incredibly, in the 1960's, the temples were cut into 2,000 individual portable blocks of rock and reassembled 200m away to save them from the rising waters of the High Dam of the Nile which created the world's largest artificial lake. Such was the care invested by the UNESCO-led USD40 million project that it's so difficult to tell today where the rocks were cut. And they even got the orientation of the temples almost exactly spot on - on 22 February and 22 October, the sun streams into the sanctuary of the Great Temple to illuminate the statues of Ramses II and the god Amun - 24 hours later than it has been for the past 3,800 years.
Unfortunately, or fortunately for me - depending on how you view things - I visited Abu Simbel during the worst sandstorm the area has seen in a decade. So everything was cast in an alien and apocalyptic yellow-orange hue, from sunlight reflecting off sand particles swirling in the air. It was one of the weirdest sensations for me, driving in a convoy down a deserted stretch of road in these conditions. A proper end-of-the-world scene, and exactly what a Mad Max movie would look like in real life. Check out some of the pics of "Fury Road" below. No Thunderdome or Tina Turner though.
See what I mean? They wouldn't let us out of the cars, so I didn't get the wide-shot that would have conveyed the scene so much better. Still, it was one of the most unique experiences I've had.
Unfortunately, the sandstorm also rendered the photos of the temples at Abu Simbel quite useless. I suppose the photos-in-ideal-conditions are always google-able. But you won't find pics like these anywhere online!
Top 2 pics are of the Great Temple, with four 20m high statues of Ramses II on his throne. The bottom pic is of the Small Temple where there are six 10m high statues - two of Nefertari, flanked on either side by Ramses II. It's said that this is the first time a woman is rendered the same size as a Pharaoh, an indication of the stature and adoration that Queen Nefertari must have commanded.
Top 2 pics are of the Great Temple, with four 20m high statues of Ramses II on his throne. The bottom pic is of the Small Temple where there are six 10m high statues - two of Nefertari, flanked on either side by Ramses II. It's said that this is the first time a woman is rendered the same size as a Pharaoh, an indication of the stature and adoration that Queen Nefertari must have commanded.
The interiors of the temples, especially the Great Temple, are stunning. This time the no-photography rule is policed by guards with guns. So the photographer wasn't quite brave enough to get any decent photos.
But believe me, it's very impressive inside. The style is quite different to the wall reliefs I saw elsewhere in Egypt, perhaps because they are largely preserved in their original state, not carved-over by successive rulers like in many other examples. They also seem a lot more exaggerated - you can see massive illustrations of Ramses II in his chariot single-handedly taking on entire armies of Hitites. What can I say... history is written by the victors right?
But believe me, it's very impressive inside. The style is quite different to the wall reliefs I saw elsewhere in Egypt, perhaps because they are largely preserved in their original state, not carved-over by successive rulers like in many other examples. They also seem a lot more exaggerated - you can see massive illustrations of Ramses II in his chariot single-handedly taking on entire armies of Hitites. What can I say... history is written by the victors right?
Felucas docked by the East Bank at Aswan with their masts punctuating the sky at sunset.
A quieter and more idyllic part of the Nile. Elephantine Island, Aswan.
Colourful Nubian accommodation on Elephantine Island. The Nubians are an ancient race which was integrated into the Egyptian society during the time of the pharaohs. Today they are mainly found in Sudan, and some still live in Southern Egypt. Their complexion is darker than the typical Egyptian Arab, and closer to what we would loosely define as the African ethnicity today.
