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Abu Simbel is a small village 280 km south of Aswan. The place is famous for the impressive Great Temple of Ramses II with the four sitting colossal statues of Ramses on the fa?ade. Abu Simbel is far away, but is absolutely a must see! Most temples in Egypt are freestanding but the two in Abu Simbel are cut out of the rock. The temples were built more than 3000 years ago, but what you see today is not the temples original place. When the High Dam was built and Lake Nasser created the temples had to be moved to higher ground. It was a big project, involving many people, many years of work and a lot of money. An artificial mountain was built to house the temples, 65 metres above the original site. The fa?ade of the Great Temple of Ramses II is 33 metres high and 35 metres wide. The four colossal statues of Ramses are impressive with their height of over 20 metres. Well, one is broken as it lost its head in an earthquake 27 BC, but it lies on the ground below. In the Great Hypostele Hall are eight more statues of Ramses, four on each side and each in front of a column. In the sanctuary are sitting statues of the four gods the temple is dedicated to; Ra-Harakhty, Ramses II, Amun and Ptah. The walls in every room are covered with relieves. Entrance fee to the temples was 65 pounds (July 2005). Leave a Comment
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The Temple of Isis have a beautiful setting on an island. The views are great as you arrive by boat. The temple was mostly built during the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphia (285 - 246 BC) on Philae Island and Isis was worshipped there until the temple was closed in 550 AD. When the Aswan Dam was created in 1902 the temple was partly submerged for many months a year, and still more so when the dam was heightened. At that time it was possible to see the temple from rowing boats going around the ruins. Sounds to have been quiet nice to see them in that way. As the Aswan Dam was constructed the temple complex on Philae Island was rescued and moved to the nearby island Agilkia. You will arrive to the island on the south side. Near the landing is the Hall of Nectanebo, which is the oldest part of Philae complex. Then comes the outer temple court with colonnades on both sides. At the First Pylon you will enter the Temple of Isis, The Second Pylon will lead to a hypostyle hall and then on to the Inner Sanctuary of Isis. Inside the Temple of Isis the walls are covered with reliefs of Isis, Osiris and Horus (mother, father and son) in different scenes. There are also reliefs of other gods and of the Ptolemies and Romans, who built and added to the temple. On the walls are also carved out crosses, added later by Christians. Beside the big Temple of Isis there are the remains of smaller temples and chapels on the island. Entrance fee to the temple complex is 35 pounds (July 2005). To that you have to add the fare for the boat trip to the island. We were five people paying 25 pounds (5 pounds each). Leave a Comment
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A felucca trip round Elephantine is full of interest. A felucca is a small boat for 15-20 passengers under a sail. You may admire with beautiful sights of the river and the Nile banks. You will listen to Nubian songs! Some 500m south, near the right bank of the Nile, is a small islet on which can be seen a number of "potholes", gouged out of the rock and worn smooth by the Nile flood. I don’t know how much the trip cost because we had a complex excursion, which included a felucca trip, a botanical garden and a Nubian village (all together $20). You may see my VIDEO-Clip from my personal YouTube channel: 6 min 05 sec Egypt Aswan Felucca Trip 2007 You may watch my Felucca trip high resolution photo on Google Earth in Aswan according to the following coordinates 24º 6' 4.47" N 32º 53' 43.07" E or on my Google Earth Panoramio Aswan Felucca trip 1, Aswan Felucca trip 2, Aswan Felucca trip 3.
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