Off to Abu Simbel

The good news for Wednesday was that we’d be witnessing sunrise in the Sahara as well as seeing Abu Simbel. The not-so-good news was that we’d be departing for Abu Simbel at 6am. 

 

Day had not yet dawned when we boarded the bus for the 3 ½ to 4-hour drive to Abu Simbel. Hussein explained that we had to travel there by bus because at this time of year, the water level in certain portions the Nile was too low to allow for riverboat traffic. 

 

As we traveled south on a modern highway, Hussein called our attention to mining operations (primarily magnesium phosphate), factories (processing food for export), road construction, and newly built settlements we were passing. The new towns include mosques, churches, hospitals, and schools. The government hopes to convince 5 million people who currently live in the Nile delta and the Nile valley to move to the desert. 

 

Since the dam was built, agriculture is now possible year-round with irrigation from Lake Nasser. The water is channeled to the newly green land by canals. The main canal is 150 miles long. The most important crops are corn, alfalfa, wheat, dates, and fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes and watermelon. Everything is grown organically since the water still contains plenty of nutrients. According to Hussein, this desert area is the future of Egypt. The government plans to add an additional 5 million acres of green land in the coming years. 

 

I learned that Egypt is concerned that Ethiopia has recently built a dam on the Nile near their border with Sudan. If Ethiopia were to release a huge volume of water, it could flood into Egypt where it would go into one of the main canals. For this reason, there is constant military surveillance of the Ethiopian dam. 

 

A bit of trivia: 12 million Egyptian people live abroad and send back $42 billion annually. That’s the country’s chief source of revenue.

 

By 7am, the sun was fully above the horizon. In the bright morning light the sands of the Sahara gleamed like gold. The sky above was a flawless Tiffany blue. There was a seemingly endless stream of trucks on the road. Hussein told us that the vehicles heading south were on their way to Sudan, bringing aid as well as crops from the recently cultivated land. Another convoy of trucks was heading north, carrying a load of dry alfalfa to be used as food for livestock.  

 

An hour later, we pulled off the road in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. But there was a coffee shop with clean restrooms (and western toilets).  

 

A little further south, we saw one of the smaller canals that carries water from Lake Nasser.

 

About 9:30, we arrived on the shore of Lake Nasser at Abu Simbel and approached the temples from the back.

 

The relocation involved moving the temples a distance of 200 feet to a site that was 60 feet higher in elevation. Their original location is now entirely underwater. The two temples were built for Ramses II, who reigned from c. 1279 to 1213 BCE. Both were cut directly into the rock. When the temples were relocated, this setting was recreated. 

 

The larger temple is the temple of Ramses II. It was built over a 20-year period in the early part of his long reign. Four monumental statues of the seated pharaoh, wearing the double crown of Egypt, are posed beside the entrance to the temple. The statues are an awe-inspiring 20 meters (65.5 feet) high. Their sheer size overwhelms the viewer and that was clearly the intention. Ramses built the temple on Egypt’s southern border to make an emphatic statement of his power to the Nubians who were frequently in conflict with the Egyptians. In addition to emphasizing his power, the statues also send the message that Ramses is a god. You can get an idea of the scale in the photo below.

 

One of the statues collapsed during an earthquake in 6^th century CE and sand covered the others until they were rediscovered in 1813 by European explorer who learned about the hidden temple from local boy. Excavation soon followed and before long, treasures from the temple were stolen by robbers. When the statues were relocated, the fallen pieces were placed in the same position where they were found at the original site.

If you zoom in and look carefully, you can see smaller figures standing at the feet of the statues of Ramses. These are his mother, his favorite wife (Nefertari), his two oldest sons, and six of his daughters. In case you’re counting, Ramses had 55 wives and over 200 children. 

 

The temple faces east, toward the rising sun. In the frieze at top of the façade, baboons, who often chatter at dawn, are celebrating the sunrise. In ancient Egypt, baboons were associated with the god Thoth and they represented wisdom. 

 

A pair of falcons flanks the entrance to the temple. In ancient Egyptian culture, falcons were associated with the god Horus and represented divine kingship.

 

In the niche above the actual doorway to the temple, the falcon-headed sun god Ra-Horakhty is depicted. This deity was a fusion of Ra (the sun god and creator of the universe) and Horus (the god who was the son of Isis and Osiris). 

The first room Inside the temple is a hypostyle hall, i.e. a room with the roof supported by rows of columns. The hall contains eight colossal statues of Ramses represented in the form of the god Osiris.

 

Along the walls of the hall are military scenes portraying Ramses in battle. Most notably, there are scenes from the battle of Kadesh (located in modern-day Syria), where the Egyptians fought the Hittites. Scholars know that the battle did not end in a decisive military victory for the Egyptians or the Hittites. Rather, it ended with what may be the world’s first peace treaty. The text of the peace treaty is written on one of the walls. I especially like the carvings of Ramses in his chariot, accompanied by his pet lion.  

 

Notice the vultures on ceiling of the hypostyle hall. Their role was to protect the temple.

The rooms that lead off the main hall feature Ramses making offerings to various gods and goddesses.

 

At far end of the temple is the sanctuary with seated statues of four gods along the back wall. On two days of the year, February 22 and October 22, the rays of the sun enter the temple and illuminate the faces of the gods. The ancient Egyptians were knowledgeable about astronomy. It is believed that February 22 was the date of Ramses’s coronation and October 22 was his birthday. I wanted to take a photo in the sanctuary but it was impossible because of the number of tourists standing directly in front of the statues to have their pictures taken. Ugh, I get so impatient with those annoying tourists. 

 

Ramses also built a smaller temple at Abu Simbel. It’s dedicated to Nefertari, his favorite wife, and Hathor, the goddess of motherhood, fertility, love, and music. Six colossal statues are carved into the façade of the temple. They stand 16 (52.5 feet) meters high. Four depict Ramses and two depict Nefertari. The small figures at their feet represent princes and princesses. By the way, Hussein told us that “nefer” means “beautiful” and Nefertari’s name is usually translated as “most beautiful one.”

 

 

In the interior hall, the smiling face of Hathor is carved into six pillars. The goddess is often represented with a flat face and cow ears.  

The walls are decorated with scenes of Ramses, Nefertari, and various gods and goddesses.

 

The two scenes below depict Ramses and Nefertari making offerings to the sacred bull of Memphis.

Before we headed back to Aswan, we stopped at a lovely resort for lunch. If you’re looking for luxury in an isolated desert location, this would be a good place to go.

The long drive back to the ship took the rest of the afternoon. At least I was able to sleep part of the way. That helped me stay awake for dinner.

I enjoyed the after-dinner entertainment, which was provided by a lively group of Nubian musicians and dancers. Hussein had told us that the Nubians love bright colors and this was obvious from their attire. 

I was relieved to learn of tomorrow morning’s relatively late departure for the Philae temples. We wouldn’t be leaving until 8am.  

Arriving in Aswan

Since our short flight from Cairo to Aswan departed at 5:30am, we arrived quite early in the morning and had the entire day to get settled on our riverboat and to explore Aswan, Egypt’s southernmost city. Our first stop was at the Aswan High Dam, located 13 kilometers (8 miles) south of the city. It was built to control the flooding of the Nile. 

 

The dam, which was completed in 1970, is one of the biggest in the world. It’s 111 meters (364 feet) high and extends for a length of 3.6 kilometers (a little over 2 miles). Construction of the dam created a huge artificial reservoir named Lake Nasser. About 30% of the lake actually extends south into Sudan. Fish and crocodiles thrive in the calm waters of the lake. 

 

The dam brought definite benefits. First of all, it was no longer necessary to evacuate the lands bordering the river every year. The hydroelectric power the dam generates supplies between 25% and 50% of Egypt’s energy needs. Egypt gained a significant amount of agricultural land and there were now three planting seasons. However, at the same time, farmers lost a source of nutrient-rich soil and had to turn to chemical fertilizers. 300,000 Nubians who had lived in the area lost their villages and had to be relocated. Also, ancient sites were lost under the waters of Lake Nasser. 

 

Prior to the construction of the dam, UNESCO coordinated the efforts of several countries to relocate 22 ancient monuments that would otherwise have been lost. These include the temples at Abu Simbel and the Philae Temples. To show Egypt’s appreciation, President Nasser gave away a number of temples as thank you gifts to the nations that helped. That’s why you can see the Temple of Dendur (built around 15 BCE) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. 

 

An earlier dam, which opened in 1902, is located 6 kilometers downstream. Known as the Old Aswan Dam, it was built by the British for the purpose of storing annual floodwater so that it could be used for irrigation of the cotton crop during the dry season. 

 

By 9am, we were boarding the MS Nefertiti, our home for the next seven days. There was a total of 66 OAT passengers on board the riverboat, and we were divided into three groups. I was very pleased with my stateroom, especially since it had a balcony big enough for a couple of chairs and table. There was also an inviting sun deck. 

 

Once I’d gotten settled, I went ashore to explore the immediate area. My greatest find was a store selling chocolates. 

 

After lunch onboard, I opted for a motorboat ride on the river. The boat looked like the one below.

Heading upriver (to the south), in the direction of the first cataract (granite rock formations in the river), the water seemed very calm. I noticed a number of feluccas, traditional Egyptian sailboats, traveling in both directions.

 

A few minutes into our journey, we rounded the northern tip of Elephantine island, the largest island in this part of the Nile. The island’s name is a reference to the granite rocks that resemble an elephant’s head. I was struck by how desert-like the terrain looked. As the local guide onboard reminded us, this is the start of the Sahara. He pointed to the ancient ruins standing on the crest of a hill. At one time, Elephantine was full of ancient temples. Nowadays, the temples are in ruins, archaeological excavations are going on, and the island is occupied by the residents of a Nubian village. The Nubian people have lived in this area since ancient times and were frequently at war with the Egyptians who lived to the north. The Nubians tend to be darker than the Egyptians and they have their own language, which exists only in oral form.

 

According to some research I did, there was a sizeable Jewish settlement, numbering in the thousands, on the island for at least 200 years during the Persian period (late 6^th to late 4^th centuries BCE). The community consisted of a group of Judean mercenaries, along with their families. The soldiers were guarding Egypt’s southern border against invasion by the Nubians. Papyrus documents reveal that they even built their own temple where they offered sacrifices, a practice previously thought to be reserved for the Temple in Jerusalem. The temple on Elephantine was destroyed in 410 BCE due to a conflict with local Egyptian priests, and the Jewish community eventually faded away. 

 

As we passed between Elephantine Island and the much smaller Lord Kitchener’s Island, our guide told us that Lord Kitchener, a 19^th century British military commander of the Egyptian army, was an avid botanist who brought plants from around the world to the island. The entire island is now a public botanical garden, and it has been renamed El Nabatat Island. 

 

Being out on the water, breathing fresh air, and skirting the small islands was such a pleasure after several days caught up in the congestion of Cairo. This is one of the many of the small rocky outcrops we passed. Prior to construction of the dam, it would have been submerged during the annual Nile floods.

 

Our sharp-eyed guide was a trained naturalist who was constantly identifying plants and wildlife as we went along. I had never seen such a variety of water birds. 

 

The tall grass with feathery plumes growing near the water is called pampas grass. Since it’s native to South America, I was surprised to see it growing wild here in Egypt. 

As we made our way into an area of small islands south of Elephantine, the waters of the Nile became more agitated and we bounced up and down and from side to side in the boat.

 

Not long afterwards, we approached the shore of the west bank of the river.

 

I was surprised that we were making a stop but I welcomed the opportunity to wade through the shallow water to a sandy beach. It was obviously a popular place for tourists and the ubiquitous hawkers of souvenirs.

 

Then it was time to reverse course and sail downstream back to Aswan. Considering the early start to our day, I was pleased that I managed to stay awake during our multi-course welcome dinner on the Nefertiti.

Tomorrow we’d be visiting Abu Simbel, a four-hour drive from Aswan, which meant another early start.