4AM - My alarm rings.
4:30AM - The wake up call sounds.
5AM - Our group assembles and makes it way in the dark back up the narrow, sandy, rocky path to the stone steps, through the market and coffee shop (closed), and then to the plaza path that leads around the "mountain" to the great Ramses II Temple that is Abu Simbel. It is as breathtaking as advertised! Four 65 feet tall stone carved statues guard the temple. We talk in hushed voices and walk in awe, taking photos as best we can as the sky gradually lightens. And then we go inside where no photos are allowed. The temple consists of three major chambers with side rooms that provide for storage and other purposes. The first chamber has walls and 40 feet high ceilings carved with the Pharoah's military exploits: The message: Don't mess with me! I am pharoah and anyone who dares come from the south (Nubia/modern day Sudan) comes with great peril. The scenes depict military exploits and victims in dramatic full figure fashion: chariots, horses, aggressive stances of figures, Nubians in chains on one side of the temple and "Orientals" in chains on the other side of the temple, all being led to the Pharoah for disposition.
The second room in the temple has all the religious exploits and offerings for the Pharoah showing him entreating the gods to recogize his worthiness. Tables and platters of food and other gifts abound. And then in the third room are two great statues - one of Ramses II and one of Re, the sun god - the message is "I am god." The room are filled with columns as I described in hypostyle hall at the Step Pyramid. It is all so extrordinary. Some colors in green and red and black remain despite the age (1600BC, I think) and exposure of the temple. Hopefully later photos will provide a sense of the grandeur.
Outside the Ramses II temple we pose for a group photo - to purchase back at the plaza. It is sunrise and the sky is stunning and quiet, though other tourists have arrived now.
We walk over to the second temple on the site, the temple of Nefetari, Ramses II favorite wife. This temple has six huge statues carved in stone at its entrance - four are Ramses II and two are Nefetari. The temple is a bit smaller than Ramses (duh!) but really more exquisite in that the carvings are finer, the colors are more vibrant and diverse, the columns have large renderings of Nefetari's face and the walls have beautiful full figure carvings of Nefetari in various flowing dresses, headpieces, flowers and other adornments. Alas Nefetari died before she saw the temple completed.
We walked along the path around the mountain and back to the coffee shop to purchase our photos as well as booklets of the interior of the two temples. Fortunately we are walking a lot now since the days in Cairo and Alexandria had very little walking. We need to walk like we did in India so as to work off the calories from the incredible food we are being forced to eat at every meal :).
As we wait for the photographs we tour the visitor center where extensive panels describe the process of moving the Abu Simbel temples from their original location to their present location. This is one of the most magnificent sites in Egypt and it was moved 450 feet back and higher to preserve it from water when the high dam was to be built (1961-1965). It was an extraordinary effort and was matched in several other instances all along the lake.
Back at the boat Harold joins me as we go to the sixth floor of the boat (the top and open deck) to view the temples as the boat leaves the "dock" and begins our journey across Lake Nassar/Nubian Sea. These views are stunning and I am so glad that Harold is able to see the magnificent temples at least from the outside.
The top deck of the boat is also quite nice - it's all relative, of course - but there is a nice swimming pool, hot tub, lounge area, etc. And now it is time for breakfast ... just as yummy as at the Sofitel if not quite as extensive! We retire to our cabin to relax and float along the Nubian Sea. The Lake is 300+ miles long, over 30 miles wide, and 164 feet deep. I am sitting in the sun, soaking it up on our balcony ... Life is good!
At 11AM we stop alongside the Kasr Ibrim Fortress and listen to our tour guide describe the fortress and the Coptic Church built many years later on the site. Descendents of the early residents here combine European blond hair and blue eyes with the African black skin and curly hair to produce today's blacks with red hair and blue eyes! We actually never saw anyone with these charateristics but Mohamed assured us that they exist and many live in Aswan!
After lunch Harold went back to the cabin to nap and I joined the group on the launch from the boat to visit Amada where there are two temples: one for Ahmenhotep II and one for Ramses II which served as the model for the larger Abu Simbel temple. Here the guards entertained us with crocodiles (I held one - very soft and calm - the crocodile, not me ... well maybe ...), scorpions and viper snakes (I passed on these two!). The walk to the temples looked long so I boarded a two donkey cart for the trip to and from both of the temples! These temples had the best colors we have seen so far ... so amazing! As we walked back to the launch, we saw watermelons growing wild in the sand with blossoms and other flowers as well as eery spiderwebs full of sand on the scrubby bushes on the beach.
Upon our arrival back at the boat we were treated to lemonade and warm wet towels! So civilized and so appreciated!
At 4PM we had tea with biscuits on the top deck and watched the sun set over Lake Nassar!
At 7PM our Captain provided cocktails and appetizers in a welcome reception where we met all the department heads including the chef who subsequently provided a scrumptious dinner buffet.
Lights out on Day 7!
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