Through the night, we had sailed to Aswan, the site of the Aswan dam. On Sunday, December 3rd, we got up early so we could be in the van by 4:30 am for the 3 hour plus drive 280 km through the desert to Abu Simbel. There were only four tourists: Olga, Chris, Anita and myself, along with our guide Mohammed and two drivers. Egyptian law requires 2 drivers who can take turns on this long tedious desert trip. We each took a bench seat and tried to sleep at least until dawn. We had each received a boxed breakfast when we left the boat. We tried to choke that down before we got to Abu Simbel but that turned out to be quite a challenge. The buns and juice box were okay but the sandwiches were awful. Nevertheless, we got some nutrition and arrived at the site about 8 am.
By now we were so far south in Egypt along the side of Lake Nasser that we were only about 100 km from the Sudan border.
There is a main temple and a smaller temple at Abu Simbel. Both were rescued by UNESCO before they were submerged in Lake Nasser as it filled up when the Aswan Dam was completed. The temples had been carved out of a hillside above the Nile River. To rescue them, they were cut into huge blocks and re-constructed above the final water level. It was hard to tell that they had been moved. Once again, it seemed like every day we were being taken to another fantastic site.
No photographs were allowed inside either temple although a guard at the smaller temple tried to convince Chris to give him his jack-knife in exchange for permission to take pictures. Chris declined the offer.
Along the base of the statues at the main temple were carved images of slaves or captives tied together at the neck with a rope. In front of the smaller temple, the four of us practised our pharaoh pose.
Lake Nasser stretched as far as we could see. In fact, it's over 500 km long from Aswan into northern Sudan and in some places it's 600 feet deep. It holds enough water to sustain Egypt through 7 years with no spring flood.
Before we left the little village at Abu Simbel, Mohammed, our guide, stopped at a little shop and bought us each a very tasty falafel that made up for our unsatisfactory breakfast. The falafel was made with Lima beans on Egyptian bread (Aysh, I think) that is like a typical pita. Once you get past the idea that everyone in the shop has handled it, it's quite tasty.
About halfway back to Aswan, we visited a rest stop in the desert. We thought we'd seen the middle of nowhere before but the desert here is like something out of Lawrence of Arabia. There is absolutely no vegetation for miles. It's just sand interspersed with outcroppings of rock. Travelling by camel, horse or foot here must have been extremely arduous so it was easy to see how the desert protected Egypt from invaders.
Back at the boat, we had a late lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon on the top deck soaking up the sun. Later that night there was a Nubian dancing exhibition in the lounge. For thousands of years the Nubians have been the Egyptians' southern neighbours. Although the traditional costumes were interesting, the dancing wasn't very good and eventually devolved into the audience doing the hokey pokey like we were all at a drunken wedding. However, it was an experience.
By now we were so far south in Egypt along the side of Lake Nasser that we were only about 100 km from the Sudan border.
There is a main temple and a smaller temple at Abu Simbel. Both were rescued by UNESCO before they were submerged in Lake Nasser as it filled up when the Aswan Dam was completed. The temples had been carved out of a hillside above the Nile River. To rescue them, they were cut into huge blocks and re-constructed above the final water level. It was hard to tell that they had been moved. Once again, it seemed like every day we were being taken to another fantastic site.
No photographs were allowed inside either temple although a guard at the smaller temple tried to convince Chris to give him his jack-knife in exchange for permission to take pictures. Chris declined the offer.
Along the base of the statues at the main temple were carved images of slaves or captives tied together at the neck with a rope. In front of the smaller temple, the four of us practised our pharaoh pose.
Lake Nasser stretched as far as we could see. In fact, it's over 500 km long from Aswan into northern Sudan and in some places it's 600 feet deep. It holds enough water to sustain Egypt through 7 years with no spring flood.
Before we left the little village at Abu Simbel, Mohammed, our guide, stopped at a little shop and bought us each a very tasty falafel that made up for our unsatisfactory breakfast. The falafel was made with Lima beans on Egyptian bread (Aysh, I think) that is like a typical pita. Once you get past the idea that everyone in the shop has handled it, it's quite tasty.
About halfway back to Aswan, we visited a rest stop in the desert. We thought we'd seen the middle of nowhere before but the desert here is like something out of Lawrence of Arabia. There is absolutely no vegetation for miles. It's just sand interspersed with outcroppings of rock. Travelling by camel, horse or foot here must have been extremely arduous so it was easy to see how the desert protected Egypt from invaders.
Back at the boat, we had a late lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon on the top deck soaking up the sun. Later that night there was a Nubian dancing exhibition in the lounge. For thousands of years the Nubians have been the Egyptians' southern neighbours. Although the traditional costumes were interesting, the dancing wasn't very good and eventually devolved into the audience doing the hokey pokey like we were all at a drunken wedding. However, it was an experience.
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