That Ramses II, So Hot Right Now

Abu Simbel was everything I thought it would be and more!

Originally we were to be taking a plane to and from but the flight into Abu Simbel was canceled so we drone for four hours in a police caravan (we would be flying back to Aswan though). We had to meet them half an hour before departure and we thought we would be ready on time since the last week, Judy and I have been freakishly punctual. Well, this day, we were running late. We had ton out all of our liquids into the large behemoth we call our luggage that we were leaving with Doodie in Aswan. We couldn’t get it closed. I tried sitting on it, laying out, jumping on it, Nothing would work. The kicker was, it wasn’t any fuller then than it was when we first arrived. Blame it on a crappy packing job. We were in fact running so late, that our rep in Aswan came to our door to check on us. I felt so ridiculous trying to explain to him why I was sitting on my luggage, sweating bullets, trying to get this thing closed. But finally after ten minutes, I managed to get it closed and we were quickly on our way.

We met our caravan and made our way throughout the desert. It wasn’t a terribly long lride. In fact, it went by quickly. During the ride, Judy, Doodie, and I chatted about our previous day, things to expect in Abu Simbel, and other miscellaneous things. Doodie introduced us to a popular musician of Nubian decent named Mohamed Munier. I loved him–I could totally see myself rocking out in my Malibu to it.

When we arrived to the Temple of Ramses II, we didn’t see anything–just dirt, a walkway, and Lake Nasser. The suspense was killing me. This is one of the only temples I have ever wanted to see not just because of its meaning and magnitude but because it was actually moved 65 meters above its original location. When the High Dam was built, the temple was submerged in the Lake and so UNESCO paid $80 million to have it moved, stone by stone. As Doodie would say, “This was a miracle!”

As we made our way around the front of the temple, I felt my pace quicken. Fortunately Doodie walks so quick my pace simply matched his. As we rounded the bend, the temple emerged. I grinned from ear to ear. Soon, the temple appeared fully and once again, Egypt and its monuments took my breath away. The temple was extravagant, marvelous, and well, huge. Overlooking Lake Nasser, the temple seems to glow even when it is hidden in the shade.

To the right of the temple lay a smaller one dedicated to Hathor. While it was beautiful, for me it didn’t match the splendor of the Grand Temple.

Doodie had sat us down away from the temples so he could explain some of the important reliefs and things to see within each temple. It was hot and I was too excited to sit. I was chomping at the bit to run inside and experience the one temple (besides Hatshepsut’s temple) that I’ve wanted to see my entire life. When he was finished, he let us loose to explore. We first looked at the smaller temple to give tourists the chance to leave the larger one. When done, we made our way to the Grand Temple. It seemed to rise from the sand as we approached, growing larger and more magnificent the closer we got. As we stepped inside, we both gasped. Judy stammered, “This is just amazing!” as tears welled up and her chin quivered. We both sat in the entry way taking it all in. From the entrance, you can see the Holy of Holies which is a room dedicated to specific Gods in which only the King and High Priests can enter to make offerings, the four statues glowed in the distance, casting an eerie and yet spiritual feeling throughout the temple. The walkways were decorated with Osirian pillars and occupied by hundreds if carved reliefs. My favorite was the story of King Ramses II winning the war against the Hitites (which actually didn’t happen. Ramses II was just a big fat liar). It was elaborate with depictions of Ramses clubbing enemies and making offerings to the Gods to help him win. His image clearly stood out among the reliefs.

There are quite a few antechambers in this temple. One in particular that I walked in brought me an uneasy feeling. It was dark, quiet, and I was completely alone. As I walked through the long chamber, it dawned on me that I was stepping in the footprints of an ancient people–they had come to this temple and made offerings in this very room. In front of my lay three thousand, five hundred years of history. I shivered. What power I felt in this room. The gods were clearly present.

We spent quality time at this temple examining every last detail. The best part was that we were going to see the sunrise at the temple the next day.

We made our way back to Doodie and he took us to the Nefertari Hotel and bid us adieu. He headed back to Aswan that night. The hotel was a quaint three star with gorgeous views of the lake. The room was clean, beds comfortable, and the staff was friendly. We had a feeling however that we were the only ones staying at the hotel. we didn’t see any other tourists during our stay; again an example of how hard the Egyptian tourist industry has been hit.

The next morning I woke–not easily–excited to watch the sunrise. Our Abu Simbel rep picked us up and dropped us off at the temple at 4:50 AM. The sky was already waking when we got there. The guards and 15 staff member wouldn’t let us in until 5 which made us a little nervous –we didn’t want to miss a thing. Once we entered, we made our way to the from. We were the only ones there. All was quiet and still as the sun peaked over the horizon. It was a fiery red, painting the sky with brilliant pinks and yellows. as we watched, the temple began to morph. We saw it change before our very eyes from a deep red to a sunny yellow to an electric orange. In the background lay the full moon, show casing the duality of our world. Once again, Egypt brought me peace. While we sat, mesmerized by the colossal monument, stray dogs played with each other, enjoying their free time before the sun brought the unbearable heat.

We sat there for two hours–we did explore the inside of the temple again, but just briefly. We ma our way back to the hotel and packed up. Our time in Abu Simbel came to a close and we were off to the airport.

But we hit a snafu–a little snafu, we had forgotten our tickets in our luggage back in Aswan. However, Lady Egypt didn’t let us down and got us copies. We got on the plane without a hitch and made it back to Aswan in 30 minutes. We were greeted by Doodie and we were once again off for more adventure.

Abu Simbel is tied with the Nubian Village as the best experience so far. We still have so much more to see. Can life get any better?!