My Egypt Travel Stories / Day 6

Abu Simbel Temple and a Nubian Island Tour

Hello and welcome to my Egypt travel diary. This is day 6.

DAY 1 | DAY 2 | DAY 3 | DAY 4 | DAY 5 | DAY 7

I took one week of annual leave to explore one of the most ancient civilisations, and it was incredible. I hope you enjoy peeking into my travel journal.

The day starts at 3.45 am with a wake up call from reception. What an absolutely obscene time to have to wake up whilst on a holiday. Our first tour of the day departs at 4.15 am.

This morning we are going to Abu Simbel Temple. The temple of Ramses II and his wife, Nefertari.

We were told very sternly by our guide not to drink anything at all before getting into the van because the pit stop is over two hours away. We were very good tourists and obeyed him. So much so that we didn’t even need the pit stop. We kept rolling by to arrive at Abu Simbel 3 1/2 hours after we departed Aswan.

These temples were relocated during the building of the high dam by UNESCO. If they weren’t moved, they would now be underwater. A kind of Atlantis, if you will.

We arrive at the site and walk down the path to the temples. The four magnificent statues of Ramses II greet us immediately. Our guide explains some of the details and history of the temples.

Ramses II reigned for 70 years and was a skilled warrior. Many of the depictions in the temple show him defeating enemies. There’s also a weird penis depiction. At least I think it is.

This temple is the one where twice a year the sun shines directly into the face of a Ramses II statue in a back room. The dates are 22 February and 22 October. They were meant to be the 21st, but when the temples were relocated, that bit got messed up. February was his coronation date, and October was his birthday.

The temple is so busy today. People are bustling past, and I make peace with the fact that at one of the most beautiful temples, I’m going to end up with the crappiest photos. Not to worry.

We head over to the second temple that Ramses II built for his first and favourite wife. He had many wives and over 100 children.

The temple for Nefertari is small and crowded, but it is beautiful. I liked it more than Ramses II. The reliefs on the wall were beautiful. I couldn’t stay long here as the heat from everyone inside the small temple made it somewhat unbearable to be in.

After we leave the temple complex, we make our way back to the meeting point to start the 3 1/2 hour journey back to Aswan. Was the temple beautiful? Yes. Was the temple a 7 hour ride in a van beautiful? The jury is still out.

I’m also feeling like I expect every temple to be bigger and more amazing than the last one I’ve seen. So, this probably doesn’t help my feelings!

Upon returning to the cruise ship, lunch had already been served, so we headed there straight away as we’re pretty hungry. We were given breakfast boxes, but they were raided quite early, considering we were up before dawn.

We then head to our room and chill out for a bit, as we have another tour in the afternoon. At 4.00 pm, we head to the lobby to join our guide, so we can explore the Nubian Islands.

The boat is a traditional-style wooden boat. It has a top deck that we sit on because it has much better views. Once we start moving, the boat operator puts on some Bob Marley music. It’s such a weird thing, but at the same time, it seems so perfect.

Along the way, there are huge sand dunes that beautifully reflect the sunshine. There are footprints high up on the sand. We start to pass Nubian style architecture, which is a mud brick house, with a domed roof, then covered in what I think is a limestone render. The buildings are then painted in beautifully bright colours.

We reach one island where we hop off the boat, so as to put our feet in the water. The sand is fine and soft. There are dogs on the beach, so I can’t tell if the pebbles are rocks or poop. I avoid stepping on them regardless.

After a few minutes of soaking our feet in the very cold water, we head back to the boat to continue to another island. We see more and more brightly coloured buildings. They look so cool.

The Nubian people were relocated to these islands because when they built the dam, not only would it have flooded the original location of the Ramses II temple, but it would also have flooded the Nubian villages.

We alight from the boat and walk through the market area. The Nubian people are famous for their spices and hibiscus tea. So walking through the market is a feast for the senses. The gorgeous smelling spices mingle with the colours of the stalls, making it such a lovely experience.

Passing one stall, the shopkeeper calls to our group, “I don’t know what you want, but I have it here”. Now that’s a sales pitch!

We visit a house and go up to the rooftop. Once there, we are given some hibiscus tea, which I really liked. We were given a baby crocodile to hold. In the past, the people would protect the baby crocodiles because the Nile was also home to hippopotamuses, which would kill the baby crocs. And the crocodile is the god Sebek. While here, Amy had henna painted onto her hand. It’s the eye of Horus with the key of life.

Soon enough, it’s time for us to go back to our cruise boat. We hop on the smaller boat that brought us here, and we make the trip back. It takes about half an hour, but that’s fine because the river is so beautiful, especially at this time of day.

We go back to our room and rest for a bit. We’re still tired from our early start. Dinner is served at 8.15 pm. Afterwards, I go for another massage. This one was for lymphatic draining and stress in my back. This one hurt, but in a good way. I went into the steam room again but embraced the experience this time.

Then back to my room for a shower, and then it’s bedtime.

More journal entries from this trip

My Egypt Travel Stories / Day 1
My Egypt Travel Stories / Day 2
My Egypt Travel Stories / Day 3
My Egypt Travel Stories / Day 4
My Egypt Travel Stories / Day 5
My Egypt Travel Stories / Day 7

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