Abu Simbel - A Historic Site

This morning it's time for us to say goodbye to one of our favorite hotels - the Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan.  We had an early morning breakfast in the beautiful Pharaoh Room.  The breakfast was sumptuous.  The wait staff was excellent.  Sadly, we have to move on to our next highlight - Abu Simbel

This is one of the highlights of our trip, among many.  Click on the link above and Wikipedia will give a detail account of the history and how it was moved.  Again, we hop on our 50-seater bus for a 3-hour comfortable ride south through the desert to near the border with Sudan.  Abu Simbel is such a significant archaeological site in Egypt that it was worth traveling an entire day out of the way to see it.  You will soon find out why.

This map shows where we are heading - way to the south near the border with Sudan

Our 50-seater Bus

Driving across the desert reminds me of driving from Phoenix to Los Angeles.  Large expanse of nothing except for an occasional incidental structure or pit stop.  There are almost no trees.  No mountains.  No people.  No animals.

Coffee Shop

Snack Shop

Equipment for what?

Transmission Towers

Trucks at an intersection

When the Aswan High Dam was built, it created Lake Nasser.  The rising waters of the lake would eventually drown out the massive temples of Abu Simbel.  In order to save it, it has to be moved to higher grounds, about 200 feet away.  To accomplish this monumental task the complex was cut into 1,036 blocks, each weighing 11 tons.  25,000 workers toiled for 3 years and an important part of history was saved.

As we approach the site we could see the carvings from a distance.  You start to appreciate it more when you are standing right in front of each of the temples.  There are many carvings at the bottom and all around the four big carvings.  Each has its own meaning.  Inside the temples are more rooms and carvings.

Approaching the site

Rock relief figures of Ramses II

Scultures at the feet

His wife Nefertari

Carvings at the feet

Inside the temple are more carvings on the walls and statues.

The smaller rock-cut temple:

Facing the smaller temple

At another angle

Relative locations of the two temples

Inside the small temple:

At night we went back to the Abu Simbel site to see a sound and light show:

That night we went back to the hotel for a very generous buffet dinner.  The next morning we'll be driving back to Aswan to board our private 16-passenger yacht to sail down the Nile river.

Aswan Day 2 - Nubian Museum, Coptic Orthodox Church, Quarry, Spice Market

We have most of the day free on our 2nd day in Aswan City.  We were given a few suggestions, or we can do nothing and hangout at the hotel.

The first place I visited after breakfast was the Nubian Museum.  It's about a 10-minute walk from the hotel.  It's a small museum and contains many artifacts on the history and culture of the Nubian people.  Before coming to Egypt I have never heard of the Nubians.  Without understanding their history one would assume they are black africans like the other parts of Africa.  But their history is close intertwined with Egypt and Sudan, which, by the way, used to be part of Egypt.  The following artifacts are from the Nubian Museum

Across from the hotel is also the Coptic Orthodox Cathedral.  I am not sure which population it serves in Aswan but the church was empty when I visited.

Another interesting point of interest is the nearby quarry, where there is an unfinished granite obelisk.  Three of us took a 10-minute taxi ride, which costs us $45 or about $15 each.  Someone insisted on asking the hotel to arrange a taxi for us, which naturally, will charge you an exorbitant sum.

There were a couple of guides on a hot afternoon at the quarry.  They were happy to give us an unsolicited tour of the quarry and explained the stages and how they were being cut.  Most of us have seen Egyptian obelisks and have never given any thought as to how they were carved and stood upright to be displayed.  The most famous obelisks is the one in the Place de la Concord in Paris.

Obelisk in Paris, by Craig Booth, Leiden, Netherlands

Unfinished granite obelisk

We were given a tour of the rooms occupied by Agatha Christie and Winston Churchill when they separately stayed at the Old Cataract Hotel for an extended period.  They didn't stay in rooms but in suites, sort of like an apartment within the hotel.  Needless to say, they were opulent.

Agatha Christie's room:

Winston Churchill's Room:

That evening we visited the Spice Market in Aswan, followed by dinner at a local restaurant.

Our location in Aswan

Dinner at a local restaurant

Local musicians playing Nubian music

Our stay at the Old Cataract Hotel itself is quite an experience.  There is so much history behind this hotel and the way it was decorated lives up to its reputation.  Here are some pictures of the dining room, which, I think, is called the Pharoah's Room.