The Abu Simbel landscape looked eerily similar to that of the Mars pictures we've seen. There was nothing but sand and reddish rock. Just when we thought nothing could live out there, we spotted Lake Nessar (a huge lake created by the damming of the Nile) surrounded by vegetation just at the water's edge. It was still early in the morning, but the sun's intensity was incredible.
We made the short drive to the temples, paid the entrance fee and walked the rest of the way. As we came around a bend, the four huge statues of Ramses II came into view. The sheer size of these statues was beyond impressive. They were created to honor different Gods, Ramses II himself, and his wife Nephretite. They were found in 1813 and were mostly covered in sand. By 1817, enough sand was cleared to enter the temples.
When the first dam on the Nile was completed, the Egyptians realized the rising water was going to overtake the temples. So, they decided to move both temples to their present location. They created a huge hill and covered it with rocks to resemble the original location. Then they cut all the original walls, ceilings, artwork, and statues and recreated the temple. The original temple location is now covered by Lake Nessar just below the current site. Numerous lesser known temples have been swallowed by the Nile as well.
Another interesting fact is that twice a year, on October 22 (Ramses II's birthday) and February 22 (Ramses II coronation), the sun is aligned perfectly so that it shines directly through the entrance door and illuminates the innermost chapel. Amazing! How were these people so advanced 4,500 years ago? It's absolutely mind boggling, especially to see it up close.
We entered the temple and were blown away by the detail and color on all the walls and ceilings. We could only imagine what it would have looked like thousands of years ago by candlelight. I would get up close and think about the artists that created these masterpieces. Unlike in the US, we were able to get as close as we wanted, and little was protected by glass.
The walls were carved and painted depicting offerings, battles, and hieroglyphics. Each hieroglyphic picture represents a sound, and these sounds are put together to create words in the ancient Egyptian language.
There were multiple rooms of many pictures, and at the back of the temples were statues of the honored gods (usually one god, but this great temple honors four gods). There were rooms on either side where the offerings were stored. Only priests were allowed in these temples. All of the artifacts, structures, statues, and paintings are incredible because they are fine art and engineering even by today's standards. With their limited tools, how did they get lines so perfect, stone so smooth, colors so vibrant, structures so sound and so perfect? The non-existent airflow makes the temple double as a sauna. At points it is so hot inside the temple that it was a relief to get outside and stand in the sun.
We flew back to Aswan and boarded the cruise ship, the Movenpick Royal Lily. It was a new ship, and it was gorgeous. It had a nice lounge, restaurant, and a small pool with shaded seating. Our room was very nice and pretty big. We had a huge window with a great view of the Nile. Both of us couldn't contain our excitement. How incredible to be on the Nile, the river of life, for the next five days.
We ate lunch on the boat, and Grace and Larry told us some interesting news they'd heard on the TV in their room. Apparently a tour group with a guide, driver and European tourists were taken hostage in Egypt earlier that day. We thought this would be a good time to call our parents and let them know we were okay. The boat had security, and at each port there were tourist police walking around. We were a little shaken but still felt safe.
We relaxed, took naps and then jumped aboard a felucca, a traditional Egyptian sailboat, for a sail on the Nile at sunset. It was wonderful! The temperature was cooling off and a nice breeze was blowing. We sat back and enjoyed watching the farmers work and the children play in and around the Nile. It was quite an experience dipping my hands in the cool water as we slowly sailed by. As our tour came to an end, we experienced a perfect sunset over the Nile.
We had a really good buffet dinner and great conversation with Grace and Larry. It was fascinating to hear about all of their past adventures. After dinner, we headed up to the lounge we where watched Egyptian music and dancing!
Arabic we've picked up so far (spelled incorrectly, I'm sure):
+ shokran = thank you
+ la = no
+ ah = yes
+ salam = hello/goodbye (general)
+ salam ah lekume = hello/goodbye (directed)
1 comment:
Ansel Adam strikes again!
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