Trip duration: 2 days, Dec 2023
Overnight we arrived at our destination port.. the town of Aswan. Aswan is a busy market and tourist centre located just north of the Aswan Dam. The city derives its name from the Coptic word for the tents that were set up in the market.
Day 1 - Abu Simbel
We had a super early start... 4 am! The reason? We were heading to the temple of Abu Simbel, located around 4 hours south from Aswan and were trying to beat the crowds and the heat. Armed with boxed breakfasts we got onto the bus and nodded off again... the rising sun woke us up a couple of hours later and we continued our bus ride to Abu Simbel. En route we passed by the fork of the road very close to the Sudan border.
Abu Simbel is the site of two temples built by Ramses II, dedicated to himself and his primary queen, Nefertari. Carved out of a sandstone cliff on the west bank of the Nile, the temples were unknown to the outside world until their rediscovery in 1813 by a Swiss researcher. Ramses II selected this town 280 km south of Aswan and over 500 km south of the capital, Luxor since it was close to her home town in Nubia, near Egypt's southern border.
 |
| Abu Simbel |
Fun fact: When lake Nasser, the reservoir created by the Aswan High Dam threatened to submerge the temples, UNESCO and the Egyptian government sponsored a project to preserve the site. It was a massive endeavor to essentially slice up the monolithic temples into almost 36000 blocks and relocate them further up the mountain (65m up and 180m back), while still preserving their appearance and various features. You can read more about it here.
The Great Temple at Abu Simbel took around twenty years to build. Also known as Temple of Ramses II, it was dedicated to the gods Amun, Ra-Horakhty, and Ptah, as well as to the Great King Ramses himself. The temple is most well known for the four imposing seated colossal statues that dominate its façade. Each statue is that of Ramses II at different stages of his life... as a boy, young man, father and grandfather.
Unlike most Egyptian temples, these temples are located on the western side of the Nile so that the rising sun's rays can illuminate the temples.
Upon entering the great temple, there are a series of rooms, dedicated to the king himself and important members of his family. The Hypostyle hall is supported by eight huge Osirid pillars depicting the deified Ramses.
It was insanely crowded and thankfully our guide had given us all the information we needed to view the temples, hence we didn't waste time. That being said the inner sanctuary was packed to the brim.
After this we joined the queue to visit the temple of Nefertari. Here too the "slightly" narcissistic king erected statues of himself on the facade along with the queen. The temple is dedicated to Hathor and is one of very few instances in Egyptian art where the statues of the king and his consort have equal size.
Nefertari's temple was smaller.. but just as beautiful. A Hypostyle hall supported by "Hathoric" columns leads into the vestibule and then the inner sanctuary, both adorned by fabulous relief work.
These gorgeous temples eventually joined the ranks of other equally famous monuments as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Having explored the two temples, we soaked in the views of the beautiful Lake Nasser. Did you know that it is home to over 38000 crocodiles???
We did wish we could hang around a little longer by the lake.. perhaps snack at the little open air cafe by the lake but alas we were rushed back to the bus for the long drive back to Aswan.
The drive back was pleasant as we took a more scenic rural route for some stretch of the way. It was wonderful seeing the work the government had done to convert the desert into farmlands using the Nile's water.
Once back at the boat, we had lunch and most of us decided to wind down and relax. Meanwhile I dragged Amit out to do a little bit of shopping.
Thutmoses Perfume shop
If you thought France was THE place for perfume shopping.. well think again. Turns out that since 3000 BC, ancient Egyptians have been the founders of cosmetics, aromatherapy and perfume making. Once we went into the store, we were asked our favorite perfumes.. and lo and behold, they not only brought out local equivalents of the same fragrances but also other varieties based on our taste. We had a blast smelling perfumes and oils (and coffee beans).. while indulging in watermelon juice. Needless to say we did come out with some boxes.
Back at the ship, we geared up for an evening of fun... watching and participating in Nubian dances.
Day 2 - Aswan
This was our last day on the cruise and after an early breakfast we headed out to explore the sights in and around Aswan.
Philae Temple
This is an island based temple complex dating back to the Ptolemaic period and located in the reservoir of the Aswan Low Dam. It was dedicated to Isis, the Egyptian god of healing and motherhood. Over the centuries, various rulers and dynasties expanded and modified the temple, resulting in a complex that showcased a rich blend of architectural styles and artistic traditions.
As the name suggests, the temple was originally located on the Philae Island, which is now submerged in the waters of Lake Nasser. Even prior to the Aswan High Dam being built, the temple was damaged due to seasonal flooding after the Low Dam was built in 1906. Once the High Dam was commissioned, there was a threat of permanent flooding, and under the UNESCO project were relocated and rebuilt on the island of Agilkia. Since Philae was said to be one of the burying-places of Osiris, it was held in high reverence both by the Egyptians to the north and the Nubians to the south.
The van transported us from the cruise ship to a little port of sorts, from where at 7 am sharp (when the boats start), we got on the very first boat that took us to island temple. It was wonderful being able to explore the temple peacefully without other tourists milling around and with the early morning sun's golden rays lighting up the yellow facade, it was truly a sight to behold.
Our guide gave us a tour of the temple and pointed out areas where the temple was discolored due to being submerged in the rising waters of the reservoir of the Aswan Low Dam. Early Christians did unfortunately destroy statues and mutilate the scriptures and carvings on the walls... But regardless, this temple island is a must-see.
The Kiosk of Emperor Trajan is of course the highlight of the temple.
The temple of Hathor within the Isis temple complex has gorgeous wall art depicting the love of Isis and Osiris.
The story of Osiris is everywhere represented on the walls of this temple, and two of its inner chambers are particularly rich in symbolic imagery.
Christianity coexisted with traditional Egyptian religion in Philae, as seen in the very Christian altar in the first hypostyle hall.
Fun fact: One of the obelisks from this temple is currently in a garden in Dorset, England.
While we didn't get a chance to view it, Philae temple's light and sound show is supposed to be the best in Egypt.
Unfinished Obelisk
Our nest stop was the granite quarry which was the origin of many obelisks scattered across the temples of Luxor and other famous Egyptian temples. This is also home to a massive unfinished obelisk.. which if finished would have been the tallest obelisk... standing tall at 42m. This was supposedly Queen Hatshepsut's obelisk but when a crack appeared in the later stages of carving, she ordered the obelisk to be cut up so that it could not be used by anyone else.
After exploring the area, we picked up lunch (shawarmas) from El Shabrawe restaurant within the city.
Aswan High Dam and Lotus
Built between 1960 and 1970 on the river Nile, this is one of the world's largest embankment dams. The dam created the massive reservoir, Lake Nasser and was a collaboration between the Egyptian government and Russian government. It was built primarily to help stem the annual flooding of the Nile and use the water for irrigation and generation of hydroelectricity. The dam is HUGE.. 980m wide at the base, 40m wide at the top and 3.5 km in length.
Fun fact: The High Dam is 16 times the size of the Great Pyramid of Giza
After some pictures of the views around the dam and the dam itself, we walked down to The Lotus, the Egyptian-Russian friendship monument, commemorating the completion of the dam.
Pro tip: Visiting the lotus does need an additional ticket, hence many tours choose to skip visiting it.
We then went back to the van and got dropped off at the airport for our flight back to Cairo and onwards the following day.
Egypt you were awesome.. a true dream come true!
No comments:
Post a Comment