Philae Temple and the Temple of Abu Simbel

Good grief!  This trip has started with a bang.  Yesterday's tour of the pyramids near Cairo was a walk in the park compared to today's itinerary.

2:30 a.m coffee, tea and boxed breakfast available in the lobby
3:00 a.m. bags outside our doors
3:30 a.m. depart hotel
4:15 a.m. arrive at airport
5:45 a.m. flight to Aswan

In Aswan we took a small boat to see Philae Temple.  This is one of the many temples that would have been flooded when the High Dam at Aswan was built in the 1960s.  This is one of about 10 temples that was moved to higher ground for preservation.

Philae Temple - our introduction to Egyptian temples.

This is a little side temple, and it's so pretty in the morning light.

 At this temple we were  impressed to learn that it had been moved stone by stone to its current location.  The thought of such a project is mind boggling, but then again, building it in the first place with primitive tools is also beyond belief.

Our lovely guide Tarek started introducing us to the gods, and goddesses here.  This temple was the center of the cult of the goddess Isis. Tarek also introduced us to Osiris and Horus.  Learning the gods, goddesses and pharaohs didn't get easier as we traveled along.

We spent an hour or so contemplating this amazing sight, and then jumped on the boat, returned to the airport and flew to Abu Simbel.

Abu Simbel is about 40 miles north of Sudan, on the banks of Lake Nasser -  the lake formed when the Aswan dam was built. This temple was also moved from it's original sight to it's present location.

The Temple Abu Simbel. Next door is a smaller temple dedicated to Ramesses' wife Nefertari.

Abu Simbel was built by the pharaoh Ramesses II and is dedicated to the god Re-Harakhte. He built a temple next door for his wife Nefertari and dedicated it to the goddess Hathor.

After exploring the temple complex we headed to our home away from home, the ship Omar El Khayam.  I understand it is a small ship as far as ships go, with 60 cabins.

This is the first cruise for Taylor and me.  We checked into our cabin, rested for about 5 minutes, ate dinner and went back to Abu Simbel.  No matter that we were up and functioning at 2 in the morning, if we came this far we should see it at sunset, and also see the sound and light show.

The little black rectangle between the feet of Ramesses II and Ramesses II is the door to the temple. The lights are on and we are waiting for sunset to enjoy the show.

 Finally, with the show over and visions of gods, goddesses and pharaohs dancing in our heads we headed back to the Omar Khayam for bed.  We survived a very long day, but wait, there's more to look forward to.  Tomorrow morning at sunrise our ship will sail and we must be up on deck to see Abu Simbel for the last time.