Our first view of  the temples

Our plane landed at 7:30 after a 180 mile flight south. We were rushed onto one of the dozens of waiting buses that took tourists to the entrance to the site. Salah got our tickets and led us in. It was quite a walk before we could see the temples. Once there, we sat on some benches as he told us about Abu Simbel. There are two separate temples; the Great Temple dedicated to Ra (and Rameses II); and a smaller temple dedicated to Hathor (and Nefertari, Rameses II's favorite wife). They originally were built (carved out of solid rock) at a much lower level, close to the Nile, and would have been submerged in Lake Nasser after completion of the Aswan High Dam but for a mighty effort to disassemble them and move them here. (Can you imagine disassembling caves cut in solid rock?)
 

The two temples of Abu Simbel

Us with Lake Nasser behind

Salah finally turned us loose at 8:10. Since we were already well in that direction, Jane and I walked away from the temples toward the edge of Lake Nasser so we could get photos showing the two temples together. Then we decided to visit the Temple of Hathor first.

It was relatively small, only one hypostyle hall and the sanctuary. (The stone face of the cliff, with its carved figures of Nephertari & Ramses II, is considered to be the pylon.) The interior was so jammed with tourists (like us) that it was difficult to move around and really appreciate what we were seeing. Nevertheless, it was most impressive, though the carvings seemed very repetitious. By the time we came out, the day was already getting very hot. That's understandable, I suppose, since we were so far south, very close to the Sudanese border.

Jane at Temple of Hathor

Temple of Hathor (& Nephertari)

Inside Temple of Hathor

We then walked to the Great Temple. It was more spacious (two hypostyle halls, the sanctuary & several smaller rooms), but it was even more crowded. We were surprised to find that the humidity levels were extremely high from all the people. There was no humidity control, not so much as a fan, even though the temple was completely wired to provide lighting.

Temple of Ramses II & three other gods

Close up of 65 foot Ramses statues

Great Hall with 8 more Ramses statues

With difficulty we battled our way 200 yards to the back of the temple where there is a sanctuary with statues of four seated gods. Early on each equinox (usually the 21st of March and September) a beam of sunlight penetrates to this chamber and illuminates three of the gods (never touching the fourth, Ptah, the god of darkness).

Wall fresco of Ramses hunting

The four gods in the sanctuary

Last look at the Great Temple

It was a little before 9:00 by the time we got out of the Great Temple. Our group was meeting at the entrance at 9:15, so we just had time to walk back and use the facilities. When we got to the airport, that was mobbed, too. Then our 10:15 flight was delayed slightly. We finally took off at 10:50 and landed in Aswan at 11:30. It was hot there, too.

We were back at the ship by noon, very tired. It was hard to believe we had done so much before noon. After lunch we started packing for tomorrow's trip back to Cairo (and another early wake-up). There was a gathering in the lounge at 18:30 for a farewell drink before the evening port talk. After the traditional farewell dinner ending with the baked Alaska parade, there was a half-hour Nubian show in the lounge at 20:30. We were there, but most of the passengers were still down in the dining room saying their goodbyes. The show was very good. As the last act, one of the Nubians dressed as an American Indian and gruffly ordered members of the audience to do silly things. With another early wake-up tomorrow, we went to bed right after that.

Nubian trio plus a singer

Nubian turned Indian chief

Nubian trio plus a horn

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