Abu Simbel Temple 2-5-2006 A Majestic Temple

By Bob Van Leer

(Aswan, Egypt, Sunday, Feb. 5, 2006) - Today we made a short flight south to Abu Simbel to see one of Egypt's most notable antiquities, the temples at Abu Simbel. The flight is only about 108 miles and takes less than a half-hour. This is extreme southern Egypt. It is only 20-25 miles further south to the Sudanese border.

Literature we are given said Abu Simbel is possibly the most astounding piece of Pharonic Egyptian architecture. And it is impressive. The massive façade of the main temple is dominated by four colossal statues of Ramses II each seated on a throne and wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt.

The temples were built by Ramses II marking the border between Egypt and Nubia. There are two temples, both originally built into a rock face. The larger temple is dedicated to Ra, the sun god, and really to Ramses himself. The smaller temple is dedicated to the cow goddess Hathor and also to Ramses' favorite wife, Nefertari.

The main statues are 66 feet high and were carved directly from the rock face. The temple is over 100 feet high with a long corridor into the mountain leading to a throne room. The smaller temple has four 33 feet high statues of Ramses and two of Nefertari. The temples were built 3200 years ago.
The temples were to be flooded by Lake Nasser and were moved 200 feet high in an international effort. The whole mountainside was taken apart in blocks and reassembled higher, starting in 1964. One of the statues was broken off above the waist and lay in front of the rest. When moved, rather than reassemble the statue the pieces were moved to just the same place. Our guide said an earthquake broke the statue and this was in the first century B.C. so this is antiquity also.

There are soldiers everywhere around here. Our 3-4 buses seem to have a permanent assignment of a pickup with six soldiers to travel with us.
We returned to Aswan and in the afternoon went on a felucca ride on the Nile. The felucca is a special style of sailboat used on the river and the ride was a lot of fun in the beautiful weather. It is winter here and the temperature is similar to what we would have at home, only with sunshine. It is a little warmer in Aswan.

After dinner we had a program of Nubian music and dancing. Our guide said the Nubians are a Hamitic people, a zone between Egypt and black Africa. The Nubians are black, but with Caucasian features. Ramses II built his Abu Simbel temples to impress the Nubians with the power of Egypt.

The flight the day before from Cairo to Aswan was uneventful. From the Aswan airport to our riverboat the road goes over the top of the British-built low dam. Our riverboat, the Stephanie, is new, built in 2005, and is 73 meters long and 42 meters wide. It draws 5.5 feet. Capacity is 134 passengers and it has four decks.

Before dinner we went down to a spice market, but it was as much a regular bazaar as much as spices.
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