Egypt

Africa » Egypt » Upper Egypt » Aswan
February 4th 2007

Published: February 26th 2007

Edit Blog Post

CU260507

040207A

Abu Simbel, Egypt

Up before three because we were being collected from the hotel to join the convoy to Abu Simbel. Unfortunately we were the first pick up point & so spent an hour driving around Aswan picking up other passengers. Once on the road our journey was fast & furious, with the convoy reaching speeds of around one hundred & fifty kilometres per hour. I couldn´t see the speedo, however this estimation is NOT an exaggeration of how fast we were travelling. Fortunately the road was straight for the most part & I was still tired from lack of sleep last night, so managed to doze most of the way.

Upon arriving at Abu Simbel, I soon realized the long drive was well worth the time & effort of an early start. Just the statues outside the temples were jaw droppingly amazing, nevermind the amazing artwork inside. King Ramses II had the two temples built almost three thousand years ago; one for himself & one for his wife. What I didn´t realize until wandering through the visitors centre afterwards, was that the entire structure was taken apart & reassembled on higher ground in the 1960´s. This was because a dam was being

040207B

Abu Simbel, Egypt

built to help control the flow of the Nile River & if Abu Simbel wasn´t moved, the water would have risen so much, it would have been flooded & lost forever. I cannot begin to imagine how much time & money was spent on the relocation & restoration project, it´s completely mindblowing.

We got ripped off to the tune of eight Egyptian pounds ($2-AUD) visiting High Dam. It was nothing more than a rest stop with a nice view; there was absolutely no information about the construction or purpose of the dam to be seen.

After haggling for ten minutes on price, we took a boat ride across to visit Philae Temple. Another amazing structure & again, one that was moved in order to save it from water. Had a good look through, but am beginning to get templed out. I suppose theres only so much ´sameness´a person can take before becoming blazé, no matter how impressive something is. Decided to skip the Oblisk tour on the return journey, which is just as well because those who went claimed it was a bigger disappointment/rip off than High Dam.

The minivan dropped us off later than anticipated, but

040207C

Abu Simbel, Egypt

Sam was still waiting & we immediately left for dinner. Not wanting to lose the reservation, we caught a cab to the seafood resturant, but still ended up waiting a half hour outside for a table. Not being my favourite food, I went out on a limb & ordered fish along with the rest of the group. Apart from the bones, it was definately a good move, the food was delicious.

Walked through the market on the way home, picking up a few souvenirs. It took what felt like hours to work our way past all the sellers & hawkers, but although we ate early I still fell into bed around eight. A long yet fulfilling day, just what travelling should be all about.

Additional photos below

Photos: 32, Displayed: 24