It is another gorgeous day in Aswan and threatening to be very warm ........ 28 - 35 is the forecast temp. What happened to autumn/winter? The dry desert air is easier to cope with than if it had been humid. The shops which we have seen so far are all displaying winter fashions and we notice a number of people wearing sweaters and jackets. I suppose after it has been in the high 40s in the summer, this IS a cool change! Women in varying standards of muslim attire can be seen with many still choosing to wear the full burka. Tarek tells us that in the small towns, until a girl gets married, she wears very colourful clothing with lots of sparkles and baubles but when she gets married, she has to wear black when she is outside for the rest of her life. No matter how much I love black clothing, I couldn't imagine having to cover up completely in black especially in this hot weather.

After breakfast, we say farewell to this ship, MS Mayfair, and head to Aswan aiport to catch a flight to Abu Simbel where we will board our 2nd ship, MS Omar El Khayam on Lake Nasser. We have to change ships because it is impossible to sail pass the cataracts in the Nile river or the Aswan Dam. Abu Simbel is a small town with a population of 5000 and because this is Friday, there is very little traffic on the road. It is home to 2 massive rock temples in Nubia, southern Egypt on the west bank of Lake Nasser. The complex is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the Nubian monuments. Our program this afternoon is to visit these temples which were originally carved out of the mountainside in the 13th century BC but moved in its entirety in the 1960s on an artificial hill high above the Aswan Dam reservoir. The relocation was necessary to avoid the temples being submerged during the creation of Lake Nasser which was formed after the building of the high Aswan Dam.

We board Omar El Khayam and are pleasantly surprised at its splendour and 5* comfort. The last boat while decorated like a fashion magazine was quite dysfunctional in some ways. This one oozed class. There are only 32 passengers aboard due to the downturn in tourism and 125 crew! We wonder how they can possibly make a profit. But for now it is our gain and we aim to enjoy the attention. We find our cabin on the 5th floor (there are 6 floors) and then back to the 2nd floor for a buffet lunch in the spacious dining room. At 3.30 we gather together for the short walk to the Abu Simbel site. The sight of these massive temples built into the man made mountains is nothing short of spell binding. We can't comprehend how the Egyptians carved them out of the mountains in the 13th century BC let alone how in the 1960s they were relocated to another site in their entirety including several 20m high statues at the entrances. We are able to enter both temples to look around but not our guide. The practice of allowing guides in has been stopped recently to cut down the time which visitors take to in the temples, thus prolonging the life of the carvings. By now it is around 5pm, so we stay for the light and sound show which is due to start in an hour, the cost being $13 each. Spellbound we watch the story of Ramesses' conquests projected onto the 2 temple walls while a narration and music explain the story.