Abu Simbel: The Magnificant Temple of Ramses II

On the way from Aswan to Abu Simbel

Egypt is part of MENA (Middle East & North Africa) as it’s fashionably referred to nowadays. As the name suggests, it’s a collection of nations that are predominately Arab Muslim from that part of the world. Generally, in this region, Fridays and Saturdays form the weekend. This meant that being back in Aswan on a Friday was no good as the Sudanese embassy would be closed and so would be the following day. The best thing to do was get out of town again.

Frying my Nile Perch

Making some Falafel balls

The opportunity presented itself perfectly to visit the temple of Ramses II at Abu Simbel but there were some logistical issues that needed addressing. For one, the temple was close to the border of Sudan and was allegedly not easy to get to, and due to border tensions between these two countries, security was tight and travel options were limited.

The first rays of the sun on the rock cut temple of Ramses II at Abu Simbel

Option one was to fly there; two was to take the cruise and the last was to be part of a convoy with other visitors all departing from Aswan. The flying option was super convenient but not a romantic’s choice. Taking the ship up the river was the best option but it was a cruise ship…I had neither the time nor the inclination to be on one. This left the road as the last remaining option but the convoys would leave Aswan around 3am, drive through the desert for four hours and get back the same day after just a couple hours at the temple which sounded like being in a cattle herd. Surely there had to be some other form of public transport!

Statue of Nefertari besides that
of Ramses II

Rock cut statues of Ramses II forming the façade of the temple

On my train ride from Luxor to Aswan, a few locals were sure there was some public transport to Abu Simbel. The question they could not answer was if a foreigner could take it. What they did say is that there were a lot of checkpoints on the way but maybe it won’t be an issue as I looked like an Egyptian (without my hat that is).

I decided to take a chance and upon getting to Aswan headed straight to the bus station. At the station I found out that there was some transport heading that way but as few people traveled to Abu Simbel the timing for departures was infrequent. I got myself a seat in a Toyota Hiace minibus and had to wait for four more passengers before we could depart. That was time enough to grab a delicious kofta sandwich and walkabout.

Carvings of defeated Hittites who hailed from present
day Syria. Note the beard for the Hittite features

Enslaved Nubian with strong
African features


Having the kofta with me was a chap who thinking I was Egyptians started speaking Arabic. My response was “Hind” as if to say I am from India.

Noting that, the chap started to speak in rudimentary Hindi. To my amazement he was not an Indian working in Egypt but was an Egyptian who had worked with Indians in Saudi Arabia. This explained why he could speak Hindi. It also explained the mystery of why there were so many fairly new Toyota Hiace buses at the station. Evidently a lot of Egyptians go to Saudi Arabia to work as temporary workers, save money and then come back and start they own business. Soon, the driver hollered and it was time to leave for Abu Simbel.

Hypostyle hall leading to the santuary

Depiction of Ramses II defeating two
enemies at the same time

The ride from Aswan to Abu Simbel was fairly uneventful which was good as I was a little worried that at one of the checkpoints I might be asked to disembark and sent back to Aswan. Judging by my experience, it seems like the security situation along the border is improving which can only be good for both nations. The ride was through a hostile terrain of nothing but sand and rubble but thanks to the Chinese there now is a very good sealed road all the way to Abu Simbel. I checked into a hotel on the edge of Lake Nasser called Abu Simbel Village which had a distinctive Nubian design.

Propoganda to show the Pharaoh's might

An indication of how far tourism has dropped in Egypt in the past few years was the fact that I was the only guest at that place. I was pleasantly impressed by the town of Abu Simbel with several community parks and well laid road and building plans.

One of several side chambers carved out of
the base of the mountain

Depiction of the Pharaoh making offerings

The town center was just a 10 minute walk where I had some sumptuous fried Nile Perch for dinner before being invited to have tea with some locals. It was quite interesting that they were quite astonished that in India most people being Hindus burn their dead rather than bury them. Funnily, they though it was plain wrong to do that. Not to shock them further, I did not tell them about the funeral procedures of the Parsi community in India.

Scene showing Ramses II accompanied by a lion into battle

Osiris figures of the King inside the temple

Next morning the alarm bell rang and I woke up not feeling great but still very excited to see the temple that Ramses II had carved out of a mountain to deify himself. A 20 minute walk and I made it to the temples just before sunrise. The larger of the two temples with four colossal 20 meter statues of Ramses overlooking Lake Nasser (Nile before the construction of the High Dam) were a sight to behold as the first rays of the sun fell on them.

Hewn facade of the smaller temple dedicated to Nefertari

Small Temple - Hypostyle Hall

Considering that these temples were cut out of solid rock more than three millennia ago, the scale and design was simply astonishing. Ramses II the Great as he was called was the most powerful of the Egyptian pharaohs and no matter how egotistical and megalomaniac he was, credit is due to him for coming up with something as stunning as these temples. Amazingly, through the centuries this temple slipped into oblivion due to its remoteness and the effect of shifting sands completely covering it until they were rediscovered in 1813.

Nefertari...the pharaoh's favourite wife

Rolling back the clock a few millennia, the four statues of Ramses II would have been a jaw dropping and imposing sight to all that sailed between Egypt and Nubia. The reliefs on the temples also had several scenes of the pharaoh victorious against the Nubians and more famously (and debated) over the Hittites at the battle of Kadesh in present day Syria seemingly as a reminder to the southern neighbors of Egypt’s might.

Head of one statue laid low by
an earthquake

The smaller of the two temples was dedicated to his favorite wife Nefertari who is claimed to have been from Nubia. Interestingly, even though it’s dedicated to his wife the façade of her temple has four statues of Ramses II compared to two for her. Oh well, at least he made them the same size as his.

Not to be outdone by their ancient peers, modern engineers meticulously cut and relocated this temple piece by piece at a location a little higher and further away from its original place as a relocation plan in the 1970’s supported by UNESCO. This was done as the original temple location was going to be flooded by the construction of the Aswan high dam. Despite this relocation, there are hardly any signs that show that such an event took place.

As the first of the tourists from the cruise ship started tricking in, it was cue for me to head back to the town and catch the next local bus back to Aswan. I turned back at the serene waters of Lake Nasser one last time and wondered if I would get the chance to sail these waters on my way from Egypt to Sudan.