Abu Simbel Temple Tour Facts on Special Day Trip<<>> The Ramses Abu Simbel Temple Egypt is one of the most visited sites in the world. Most travellers to Egypt would not consider their visit complete without a visit to this great temple. This is especially the case for those on a Nile cruise. Of course the cruise ships dock at Aswan and the journey to monument is quite a way south and has to be completed by bus or air.
I will write a bit about the Ramses temple before telling you about our visit.
Abu Simbel facts are these. It is a colossal structure, which is hewn from solid rock, and the front of the main temple (there are two) consists of four huge statues of Rameses the 2nd, each 67 feet high. It was built by King Rameses the great and took around 30 years to complete.
An earthquake, so long ago it is not known when it occurred, has destroyed one of the statues from the waist up. There are smaller statues between the legs of the Pharaoh and they are believed to be his Queen, Nefetari , his mother and his son. There are two more female figures that are possibly princesses and another who may have been a lesser royal wife.
Inside there are eight more statues of the King portrayed as the god Osiris and the walls are decorated with scenes of the king in battle because Rameses was most famous for his triumphs in battle and his many conquests.
As with the usual style of Egyptian temple the way in is highly carved and progresses through halls, which become progressively more holy until the inner sanctuary is reached. This one is unique in that there is a small alter and four more statues.
The second temple was built for his beautiful and most loved wife, Nefetari.
Both temples had to be moved in the 1960’s when the Aswan Dam was being built. Fortunately several Countries contributed the funds needed to move the temple to higher ground or it would have been lost forever.
Now I will write about my visit to Abu Simbel day trip.
I was very excited to be going to Abu Simbel as it is one of the iconic images of ancient Egypt. It is as recognisable as the pyramids or the death mask of Tutan Khamun.
We sailed as far as Aswan on our cruise boat and then had the choice to travel by mini bus or plane. We chose to do the trip by coach and as it happened it was 21st February, which just happens to be my birthday. You will see why I have mentioned this a little later on.
We had to leave at 1am and join the convoy, which left together from the town centre. You can’t just hire a car and go you have to do it this way and the government says what time you go and what time you leave. This is for security reasons as you pass close to the Sudan border. There were several army checkpoints on the way and I felt quite safe.
One word of advice if you do the trip by coach, go to the loo as late as you can because there is only one toilet break and there is no question of pulling up to use the side of the road. Once the convoy starts it stays together.
The journey was about 4 hours I think. We were able to stretch out across the seats and have little naps. When we arrived it was still dark so our guide took us to a café on the site where we had coffee and breakfast.
This wasn’t just any old day to visit because not only, as I mentioned before that it was my birthday, but it was also the birthday of Rameses. When he had the temple built he commanded that twice a year, in February and October the rising sun should shine through the open door of the temple and shine on three of the four statues in the sanctuary. The figure on the left, the god of the underworld was not to be illuminated, just the figures of the king, his wife and his son. How fantastic is that?
We hadn’t planned it because we didn’t know about it but it was a really special experience and as you would imagine it was lots busier than usual. There were many more coaches than usually went and there were also television cameras as it is still a very special event for the Egyptian people. There was a point when I felt a bit claustrophobic because of the sheer numbers of people pressing forward to see the sun rise. There was also the ‘fight’ to be near the front to get into the Abu Simbel monument to actually see the sun shining on the figures. We were fortunate enough to get in and see this special sight. Even just thinking about it I find it amazing that all those thousands of years ago it was possible to build with such precision. What a sophisticated and advanced civilisation. There were some people there who found it too much and possibly it spoiled the experience for them and I have to say it did limit the time we were in the temple and we were the only ones on our coach who saw both temples.
For me it was worth the crush but I can understand that some people may want to avoid these dates. Whatever you do though do not miss an Abu Simbel tour because however many temples you see there will not be another to compare to this.
<<>>
|
