We headed off to Abu Simbel just after 3 am. Yes - we were seeing a lot of Egyptian sunrises on this trip.
To travel to Abu Simbel by bus is about a three hour trip from Aswan. The authorities require that tourists (foreigners) travel in convoys organized by the police and protected by the police. Everybody in any sort of uniform in Egypt seems to carry a sub-machine gun (usually with at least one spare magazine).
Our bus travelled to the convoy muster-point and then (after the obligatory waiting around), away we went. The drive is uneventful - it's all desert anywhere in Egypt away from the Nile.
Abu Simbel (and a smaller temple to Rameses II's Nubian queen) is on the banks of Lake Nasser. These temples were moved here in the 1970's from their original location about 200m away (which is now under the lake).
Abu Simbel is worth visiting. The towering statues of Rameses II outside the temple are striking. Inside, there is a hall of multiple columns and decorated walls, all hewn from the sandstone rock.
The convoy approach means that everyone arrives at once, but if you look at the smaller temple first and then the larger, you seem to miss the worst of it (most tourists crowd into Abu Simbel).
Our local guide gave us an overview of the temples and then left us to explore the internals (guides aren't allowed to operate inside).
Both temples are worth seeing, even if it means an early rise, long drives and (consequently) a higher cost (still only about $A100 each). Rameses II built these temples well down here in Nubia to make something of a statement to the Nubians - and the scale of these temples is a mighty statement. He was a cunning scoundrel in many ways - he also married a Nubian bride to keep them on-side (this is the queen in the smaller temple). Rameses II ruled for 67 years (he died at 92) and made a habit of marrying queens from each area of Egypt and from every surrounding tribe or country - he had over 50 wives and about 200 children.
You leave Abu Simbel as you arrive - when the convoy leaves. However, you do have enough time (just) to see the site.
To travel to Abu Simbel by bus is about a three hour trip from Aswan. The authorities require that tourists (foreigners) travel in convoys organized by the police and protected by the police. Everybody in any sort of uniform in Egypt seems to carry a sub-machine gun (usually with at least one spare magazine).
Our bus travelled to the convoy muster-point and then (after the obligatory waiting around), away we went. The drive is uneventful - it's all desert anywhere in Egypt away from the Nile.
Abu Simbel (and a smaller temple to Rameses II's Nubian queen) is on the banks of Lake Nasser. These temples were moved here in the 1970's from their original location about 200m away (which is now under the lake).
Abu Simbel is worth visiting. The towering statues of Rameses II outside the temple are striking. Inside, there is a hall of multiple columns and decorated walls, all hewn from the sandstone rock.
The convoy approach means that everyone arrives at once, but if you look at the smaller temple first and then the larger, you seem to miss the worst of it (most tourists crowd into Abu Simbel).
Our local guide gave us an overview of the temples and then left us to explore the internals (guides aren't allowed to operate inside).
Both temples are worth seeing, even if it means an early rise, long drives and (consequently) a higher cost (still only about $A100 each). Rameses II built these temples well down here in Nubia to make something of a statement to the Nubians - and the scale of these temples is a mighty statement. He was a cunning scoundrel in many ways - he also married a Nubian bride to keep them on-side (this is the queen in the smaller temple). Rameses II ruled for 67 years (he died at 92) and made a habit of marrying queens from each area of Egypt and from every surrounding tribe or country - he had over 50 wives and about 200 children.
You leave Abu Simbel as you arrive - when the convoy leaves. However, you do have enough time (just) to see the site.
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