After the AIESEC Alumni International Congress I started my own tour around Egypt with a bit of a delay as my taxi driver stood me up and I missed the bus. I booked then an alternative two hours later with a less nice company - Super Jet and waited in the small office till departure time.
Morning on the Nile
I feared I would miss the train to Aswan, but as we took only 4:15 from Hurghada to Luxor, I was well ahead at the train station that was only 150 m from the bus stop. The train arrived an hour late and I made it finally to Aswan at 3:30 in the morning. My hotel - Pyramisa Isis Island Resort & Spa - was on a Nile island and I had to wait ten minutes for the ferry to take me over. The staff was really kind and organized my trip.
After some breakfast and a couple hours sleep I started with my driver - first stop was the perfume "museum" - let's say shop. I got the standard presentation and a little massage while I waited the next group was ushered in. They were French and the shop assistant quoted initial prices 5€ below of what they told me. So I decided not to buy anything - I also didn't really need anything.
Finally, we went on the three hours drive through the dessert to Abu Simbel - we crossed the water channel that leads to Sudan and made a stop for a cold drink on the way. Otherwise, it was very uneventful. When we arrived, I feared for a moment that the sight was closed - there were no cars and no tourist. I learned soon that usually tourist come 7 o'clock in the morning to avoid the heat.
So I had all the place to myself and could photos without tourists blocking the view.
Abu Simbel is a small town and the place of two magnificent temples: the Great Temple of Ramses II and the Temple of Hathor. the temples were built more than 1000 years BC and over time were lost to the dessert sand. In 1813, a Swiss explorer rediscovered the temples and they were excavated. In the mid-20th century a new threat was the damming up of the Nile river. Several sites and temples were saved with international money and local and international experts while others vanished completely.
The Abu Simbel complex was removed piece by piece and move to a new location.
At the end of the circular tour around the complex I ended up at the souvenir shops - there were only a couple of the 30-40 stores open, but all wanted to sell me something. It was more than visible that the season and the political turmoil had a negative influence on the tourism business.
Pyramisa Isis Island Resort & Spa
After some breakfast and a couple hours sleep I started with my driver - first stop was the perfume "museum" - let's say shop. I got the standard presentation and a little massage while I waited the next group was ushered in. They were French and the shop assistant quoted initial prices 5€ below of what they told me. So I decided not to buy anything - I also didn't really need anything.
Dessert road
water channel
Finally, we went on the three hours drive through the dessert to Abu Simbel - we crossed the water channel that leads to Sudan and made a stop for a cold drink on the way. Otherwise, it was very uneventful. When we arrived, I feared for a moment that the sight was closed - there were no cars and no tourist. I learned soon that usually tourist come 7 o'clock in the morning to avoid the heat.
Lake Nasser
So I had all the place to myself and could photos without tourists blocking the view.
Great temple of Ramses II
Abu Simbel is a small town and the place of two magnificent temples: the Great Temple of Ramses II and the Temple of Hathor. the temples were built more than 1000 years BC and over time were lost to the dessert sand. In 1813, a Swiss explorer rediscovered the temples and they were excavated. In the mid-20th century a new threat was the damming up of the Nile river. Several sites and temples were saved with international money and local and international experts while others vanished completely.
The Abu Simbel complex was removed piece by piece and move to a new location.
Temple of Hathor
Walk like an Egyptian
The key of life and to close the temple.
At the end of the circular tour around the complex I ended up at the souvenir shops - there were only a couple of the 30-40 stores open, but all wanted to sell me something. It was more than visible that the season and the political turmoil had a negative influence on the tourism business.
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