4th June 2010

Up at 2.45am to visit Abu Simbel. We had a three hour bus trip in a police convoy for safety reasons. The first and last buses have armed police men on board for protection.

There was a magnificent sun rise over the desert. We arrived at Abu Simbel and guarding the entrance to the temple, were 4 colossal statues of Ramses II sitting majestically staring out across the desert. The twin temples - Temple of Ramses and Temple of Queen Nefertari. were originally carved out of the mountainside during the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II in the 13th century BCE, as a lasting monument to himself and his queen Nefertari, to commemorate his alleged victory at the Battle of Kadesh, and to intimidate his Nubian neighbors. However, the complex was relocated in its entirety in 1968, on an artificial hill made from a domed structure, high above the Aswan High Dam reservoir. The relocation of the temples was necessary to avoid their being submerged during the creation of Lake Nasser, the massive artificial water reservoir formed after the building of the Aswan High Dam on the Nile River. Wow what a day!

When we returned Katie and I went to the Souqs again and had a meal there also. Early night.