The miricle of Abu Simbel - the First Miricle

The imposing outside of the temple

Maybe "Miracle" is not quite the correct word. "Wonder" might be a better work for Abu Simbel. Wonder or Miracle - both could be used to describe the massive temple at Abu Simbel.

The first "wonder" is the amazing size of the temple. It is quite difficult to fully understand the size of the four massive statues of Ramesses II until you are standing next to them. Ramesses II must be regarded as the "King of Selfies". He was a bit obsessed with giant statues of himself and you pretty much cannot go anywhere in Egypt without bumping into a statue of Ramesses II.

Anyway - there are four massive statues of Ramesses II which was carved into the solid rock of the mountain side. The four statues are meant to represent the Pharaoh through different stages of his life, from when he was about 20 until  and then every 20 years until he was 80. To me the statues all look pretty much the same but the guide assured me that there were some differences in the face. I guess I will just to take her word on that.

Off to the right of the well known temple at Abu Simbel, is a lesser known and photographed temple to his favorite Queen. Queen Nefertiti. In true "Selfie King" style, there are also statues of his truly "Ramesses  II" alone side the statues of the queen outside her temple. Apparently these are the only (or at least very few) examples where the queen was awarded so much status that her statue is the same size as his.

The other temple at Abu Simbel

As great and well know as the outside of the temple is, I found the inside even more amazing. Caved into the rock are various chambers which have been beautifully decorated and tell the story of the reign of Ramesses II.

There are various theories as to what this temple was actually built for. One such theory was that it was to honour his beloved Queen, who was a Numbian. This temple was built pretty much on the boarder between Nubia and Egypt.

Another theory that I had heard, and which, I feel after visiting the site, is the most likely. This is a really imposing and impressive temple on the banks of the Nile just after you cross into Egypt from Numbia. You really could not miss it.  Once inside  the massive complex, the walls are decorated with all of the victories Ramesses II had over his various enemies. I think that the main aim of the temple was to send a very strong message to anyone who though that they could mess with Ramesses II. The message you clearly get from inside and outside of the temple is that Ramesses II was a really badass worrier king and who had defended all contenders. Enter into Egypt and take on Ramesses  II at you own risk and you too will have a place on the walls of all vanquished enemies.

Vanquished enemies, obviously of African origion

Defeated enemy begging for mercy

Inside the temple with my guide for the day.

Anyway - we can clearly see all of the messages and stories which have been recorded on the walls of the caverns cut out of the rock. Why this temple was built I guess we will never really know, but I am leaning toward the hypothesis that this was a message to all to not mess with Ramesses II, unless you too would like to have your story chilled into the rock.

I visited Abu Simbel as part of a very short tour between work trips. As I have mentioned before workaction is the way to go. Combining work and vacation - you get workaction!

I had a very early morning start in Cairo and trip to the airport for the flight to  Aswan. There I was met by my guide and driver for the day. Thereafter it was another "flight" through the desert to reach Abu Simble. We were driving really fast! A good flat road through the desert. The normal procedure for tours to Abu Simbel is that the coach tours pick you up in the hotels in Aswan at about 3 in the morning. You then arrive at Abu Simbel very early in the morning and leave before it gets too hot. We crossed many of the returning coaches. I can understand why the tour buses leave so early and head back to Aswan still quite early in the morning. By the time I got there it was hot. No not hot, but HOT! So much so that I could not touch the camera that was around my neck! One advantage was that all the tourists had left, so it was just me and my guide. Normally the guides cannot talk into the temple, but as there was no-one else there, she could tell me all the amazing stories inside the temple.

Abu Simbel is, in my opinion, the most impressive of all of the amazing sites in Egypt. Well worth the visit, in spite of just about melting from the heat. I would really like to go back there at some stage. A trip to Egypt once the new museum has been opened in Cairo would be a great idea.

The hoards of sellers, which used to be really very annoying in past trips to Egypt seem to be a bit more controlled. There were none at the actual site, so you could enjoy the amazing spectacle without have to constantly tell sellers "No". They are all now at the entrance (or exit) and I was probably pretty much the last of the "Mad dogs and Englishman" to brave the heat, I had quite an interesting time making my way out. They could have sold ice cold water for a fortune! My guide was a great help getting me through the hoards. After my visit to Abu Simbel, we started on the long ride back to Aswan. The driver did, once again, not fold back on the speed!

The desert road close to the boarder