Temple of Abu Simbel

From Aswan, we took another road trip to go see the magnificent Abu Simbel. To this very day, Abu Simbel is still one of our favorite spots in Egpyt, next to seeing the pyramids and is by far one of the best temple we have seen.

Abu Simbel - the facade of the great temple facing the Nile River, the two temples, that of Ramesses II primarily dedicated to Re-Harakhte, and that of his wife, Nefertari dedicated to Hathor, is a must-see in Egypt. What's much more amazing is the re-assembly of the temple because of the construction of the High Dam that flooded the temple. Experts from all over, carefully dismantled and reconstructed the temple again to a higher location, still facing the Nile River.

On the right, is the temple key holder.

Temple of Nefertari, dedicated to Hathor.

View from the mountain top.

Categories: Africa, Egypt

We stayed in Movenpick Hotel Aswan and this boat transported us to the island.

Sadly, we weren't able to take the train from Cairo to Aswan since it was fully booked. We booked a last minute ticket to fly from Cairo to Aswan instead. We stayed in a hotel by the Nile River, we had a great time walking the streets of Aswan, marvelling the sights that surrounded us. One of our day trips from Aswan was to go to Philae Temple, a temple situated on an island. 

We took a boat ride to see Philae Temple.

Philae is an island in the Nile River. Before getting to Philae Temple, we cruised the Nile River. Philae Temple is dedicated for the goddesses Isis. Philae the modern day name is Greek but the ancient Egyptians called the island P-aaleq which amongst other definitions has the dual meaning of "end" and "creation". It is believed that the various structures contained on Philae Island took 800 years to build (mostly during the Roman period). 

Categories: Africa, Egypt

For a country like Egypt, with a lot of history to offer, you need at least a week or more to discover the entire country. Our sojourn in the desert began in Giza Plateau and we saw the ancient and modern day wonder - The Giza Pyramids. The historic site is surrounded by the chaos of the city, but there it was peaking and standing still - the great pyramids. Foreigners from far flung lands visit this great wonder to experience the desert while riding a camel and checking off their ultimate bucket list of seeing one of the 7 wonders of the world. 

Living in the Middle East for quite a few years, the desert and the camel rides are not new to us, so we opted not to do the touristic way to see the pyramids. Don't get discouraged by the chaos of the city, just sit back and relax and concentrate on the pyramids. I am still amazed till this very day, how ancient Egyptians managed to build this magnificent and huge structure with rudimentary tools.

Categories: Africa, Egypt