Speechless

The biggest problem with going on a Nile Cruise (with or without one’s parents) is that you are essentially visiting a museum for 5 days. Don’t get me wrong: Egypt has some of the coolest “old stuff” in the world, and seeing Karnak and Philae was an incredible experience I wouldn’t trade for anything. That said, around day 3.5 you realize that virtually all the temples have very similar hieroglyphics and you keep seeing the same tourists at every ancient temple, tomb, and obelisk.

I took well over 600 photos during those few days so obviously I wasn’t having too bad of a time. That said, when we finished up our day of touring in Aswan, I was well and truly ready to head back to a city where the oldest things were the pyramids of Giza and those were a 30LE taxi ride away! (You have to put these things into perspective when you live in the middle of the world’s largest museum, also known as Egypt.)

On the fifth and final morning of our cruise, my parents and I still had one last tour to complete – the three-hour drive (each way) to Abu Simbel. Since the famous site is located only a short distance from the Sudanese border, we had to drive down as part of a convoy of about 10-15 cars and buses.

With an armed guard in our car, we set off on a three-hour race. The entire point of being a driver in this convoy appeared to be to pass the cars in front of you at the highest rate of speed you could achieve. We made it in less than 2.5 hours. Go us!

Keep in mind that by the time we arrived in Abu Simbel, I didn’t care that we had an incredibly knowledgeable and personable guide. I was sick of seeing things that counted their age in millennia and just wanted to get home to my comfy bed and centuries old neighborhood. As we walked past the beautiful Lake Nasr, this was the first thing I saw:

Then this:

With my mouth literally hanging agape, my first reaction was, and I quote, “Holy crap!” Aren’t I eloquent?

The giant statues towered above me and were suddenly the most impressive things I had seen in all of Egypt. Built by Ramses II in the 13th century BC, the temple is a brilliant work of art, craftsmanship, and engineering. We’ve already discussed how you can’t take photos inside the temples, so you’ll have to bear with me as I describe one of the most amazing “effects” at Abu Simbel.

At the very back of the temple is a relief carving of three gods and Ramses himself (how’s that for hubris and ego). The god to the far left is the god of the underworld. Now for the cool part: the temple was constructed and positioned in such a way that twice a year light fills the entry way and three of the four “gods” are illuminated. The one that isn’t? Mr. Underworld himself, Ptah. The days, for those of you who are interested are Ramses’s birthday and the date of his coronation. Take that, engineering majors of the 21st century!

Right next door to Ramses’s temple is the one he built for his wife Nefertari. (These are the photos at the top of today’s post.) Although still incredibly impressive, Nefertari’s tomb suffers from “sloppy seconds” syndrome. Much like having to go on stage after Robin Williams has “warmed” up the audience, Nefertari’s tomb is smaller and less impressive than her husband’s when seen in succession.

Abu Simbel is not always included in people’s regular itinerary when they visit Egypt. We had to arrange for a separate tour that was more than worth the money. Next time you’re in the neighborhood, I must insist that you spend the extra day (and it will take an entire day) to visit this amazing UNESCO World Heritage Site.