Winter mornings bring about swift dawns, and in only a short time the dark starry night turned into a bright sunny day. After the burst tyre incident, our vehicle continued down the barren desert highway for about another hour before we reached the desert city of Abu Simbel.

The first sight that greeted us was a grand view of a lake in the Upper [South] Nile, Lake Nasser. It is a very large man-made lake, formed by holding the waters of the Nile at the Aswan Dam. In that way, it’s very similar to our very own Kenyir lake.

The entire temple complex was a huge one. We actually had to go around the temple to see the entrance and facade. When we got around, we were greeted with an astonishing view.

The facade of the temple is made up of four gigantic statues of a sitting Ramses. It was so huge, its smallest toe was bigger than my head. Inside, each temple had a long straight corridor lined with pillars and the walls were filled with biographic and historical accounts of Ramses’s life.

The Temple of Abu Simbel held a great significance as it is established as a world heritage. When it was originally built, thousands of years ago, it was not built in the area where it stands today. It was carved out of a mountain of solid rock, itself and its adjacent temple, the temple for Ramses’s queen Nefertari.

After the construction of the Aswan dam, the waters of the Nile rose, and threatened to drown the temple complex. In an effort tor rescue the Temple, UNESCO and several countries [mainly Italy] decided to relocate the temple a little higher than where it stood. It was an amazing effort to rescue an archaeological site and thanks to that, the temple remains standing to this day. It was unfortunate that tourists weren’t allowed to use cameras inside the temple.

The waters of the Nile soon rose and eventually formed Lake Nasser. The Temples of Abu Simbel is an amazing site, as it was also an important proof of the advanced level of mathematics that the ancient Egyptians commanded. By tradition, temples have been built as a monument to Gods, but Ramses, who fancied himself as a god, wanted to build a monument to himself.

In an effort to avoid the wrath of the Gods, Ramses chose a location that was far from the sight of the gods, away from the major cities of ancient Egypt. The spot he picked was also meticulously and accurately calculated to fit a special criteria.

Twice every year, the sun will align itself with the entrance of the main temple. One each of these two days, the rays of the sun will shine straight through the temple corridors reaching right to the very end of the temple. At this end, there is a small chamber with life-sized four statues; Ra Harakhti, Ramses himself, Amun Ra, and Ptah. On the two days, the sun’s rays would reach and illuminate this chamber, and all statues would be lit, except Ptah - the God of the Underworld.

These two special days are Ramses’s birthday, and his coronation day as Pharaoh. Today, these days are Egyptian public holidays as the locals would flood Abu Simbel and hold grand celebrations to celebrate the occasion.

My mom and I left the temple complex a bit earlier than the rest of the group. Since she wanted to give the nearby bazaar a look, I waited for her at this cafe and ordered myself a hot drink. I paid LE 10 [about RM6.00] for a tiny cup of coffee. But it wasn’t so bad, since I also had a nice long chat with this dude as I let the coffee warm me up.

On the way back, we got to see how the desert really looked like. Apparently, I was wrong about the desert being a barren piece of land.

Agricultural activity has been going on to enrich the lands, and these activities have only begun not too lnog ago, utilising newer and better agriculutural technology to bring water and nutrients to the soil. There have been farmers around the area that have managed to successfully grow fruits like apples and oranges, as well as pumpkins and leafy vegetables. But wait, aren’t we missing something? A desert animal perhaps?

Camels! And more camels!

Camels are standard livestock in Egypt, and they are bred in herds, much like cattle and sheep. They’re not so popular as modes of transport, except to entertain pompous tourists like myself. I missed the chance to ride one, though.

Did I tell you that it was a bright sunny day in the desert?

I’ve seen some small mirages on very hot days during trips along the PLUS highway, but I have never seen such a HUGE mirage. It’s no surprise that people who find themselves lost in the desert could easily mistake a mirage for an oasis.

I slept through the rest of the journey until we reached back to the port city of Aswan, our very last tour program item and I’ll share with you the final leg of my journey in Egypt on the next Travelog! :D

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The Egypt Travelogs Series:

1. Cairo (The Great Pyramids)
2. Road to Alexandria (Asfour Crystal Palace, Lion Park Animal Hospital)
3. Alexandria (Qaitbay Citadel, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Montaza Palace Gardens)
4. Return from Alexandria (Local fruits and produce)
5. West Luxor (Temple of Karnak)
6. East Luxor - Part One and Two (Colossi of Memnon, Ramesseum, Temple of Hatshepsut, Alabaster factory)
7. The Nile - Part One and Two (Edfu Bazaar, Life along the along the Nile)
8. Kom Ombo (The Twin Temples of Kom Ombo)
9. Road to Abu Simbel (Shooting star, desert skies)
10. Abu Simbel - (The Greater Temple of Abu Simbel)
11. Aswan - (Unfinished Obelisk, Felluca ride)

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