Temple of Abu Simbel Things to Do

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Well folks, this is what we have come to see..The Temple of Ramses II.

You walk from the car park, through a row of shops and eventually through the gate of the complex. A path leads you to the left of the hill and you will have an excellent view of Lake Nasser. (Pray that there are no ships berthed here as it will be crowded if there is! We were lucky as there were no ships when we visited.)

The path then cuts to the right and as you reach the crest of the hill you are met with a very imposing view of the Temple of Ramses II with the Temple of Hathor in beside it. (The Temple of Hathor was dedicated to Ramses II’s wife, Nefertari. It is recorded that Nefertari was more beautiful than Nefertiti.)

Situated at the far left of the Temple you will see the granite statue of the falcon God Horus.

The Falcon God Horus is said to have fought a fierce battle with his uncle Seth, who had cruelly murdered Horus’s father Osrisis. The body of Osrisis was spread all over Egypt.

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The sheer size of the 4 seated statues of Ramses is impressive.

The entrance to the Temple is situated in the middle of the 4 statues, with two on each side. A small statue of Ra- Harakhty is situated above the entry while a plethora of Baboons sit patiently on either side of the façade.

An earthquake in 27 B.C saw the Pharaoh “lose his head” and Anne and I were dwarfed by the remains of his head, not to mention the sheer size of these statues.

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The fascade of the Temple was carved out of solid rock into the cliff face of a mountain. Slaves were used to do the heavy work in the creation of this Temple in the 13th century B.C.

The temple is dedicated to the Pharaoh Ramses II, although a small attempt was made to make it look as though the temple was actually dedicated to the great God Amun of Thebes. (Thebes is now known as Luxor and Karnak Temple, in Luxor, is dedicated to this same God.)

As you can imagine, Ramses II is famed for having built many temples and statues all over Egypt in an attempt to glorify himself. In my opinion, this is the most spectacular of them all.

For an excellent adventure from Aswan, Anne and I would highly recommend the day trip to the Temple of Abu Simbel. At a cost of US$85 (in July 2009.) this day was very tiring but certainly worth every cent!

You day will begin with a wake up call at 3.30am…yes, that is correct, 3.30am. You will have 30 minutes to shower, get dressed and grab a quick bite to eat and head to the foyer of the hotel for your 4am pick up.

A representative from the tour company will greet you and take you out to your bus.

REMEMBER, take -
Plenty of water
Snacks
Hat
Sunscreen
Sunglasses
camera
Egyptian Pounds.

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The bus will leave the motel a little after 4am and drive to the Southern edge of town, near the Philae Temple, to the marshalling are for all of the busses that will leave in a convoy for the Temple. (It is at this stage that I suggest you use the bathroom as there are no stops for the next 3 hours!)

At 5am sharp all of the busses form a huge convoy, with police/army escort, and you are whisked the 300 kilometers from Aswan the most spectacularly beautiful, impressive and imposing structure in all of southern Egypt.

Be warned, this 300 kilometer trip is filled with a lot of nothing! It is situated smack bang in the heart of Nubian Country and is very close to the border with Sudan. The endless highway is littered with sand dunes, mesas, Arabic road signs and a lot of sand!

Hi
we did this last November, stayed in Aswan and booked a tour, it was fine, safe, no hassle and hotel packed us breakfast to take along. We went to Abu Simbel, Philae, High Dam and Unfinished Obilisque (actually, no-one went in to see that cos we were all worn out!)

We stayed in a good budget hotel along the Corniche, booking through them was LE70 each (transport only) and we thought it good value for the money.

We met someone who had gone by private taxi, sure it was agreed at LE60 per person.... then when they go to Abu Simbel... another LE60 each to return!

It's a long day which ever way you do it, but well worth it.

Hope this helps

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Abu Simbel is wonderful on its own, but it's even nicer to see during the Abu Simbel festival. The website attached explains this festival. We were the first people in line to see it. If you plan to go, stay at a nearby hotel. The nearest hotel is The Nefertari Hotel. You can walk to the monument. Next to the temple for Ramses is the temple for Nefertari. There is a beautiful view of Lake Nasser opposite the temples.