Egypt: Day 8 (30 Oct 2007)

Let's not mince words. The pharaoic empires of northern Egypt raided the Nubian kingdoms to the south to steal gold and take slaves. They asserted their dominance by building temples. But every few decades, the Nubians would rise up and tear down the temples. So one of Ramesses II's architects suggested something more permanent.

Abu Simbel was not constructed from massive blocks of stone. It was carved out of a mountain. It is, in its entirety, a single block of stone.

Temple of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel

In fact, there are two, adjacent temples. The other is dedicated to one of his wives, Nefertari.

Abu Simbel temple to Nefertari

If its original construction from the heart of a mountain is an ancient engineering marvel, its salvation from Lake Nasser is a modern one. The entire top of two mountains were moved, piece by piece, and reassembled 80m higher than they used to be.

Abu Simbel

Abu Simbel Panorama

After the return flight to Aswan, we began cruising back towards Luxor.

Sunset over the Nile

In the evening, we stopped at Kom Ombo Temple. Kom Ombo Temple is unusual because it's a double temple: Sobek the crocodile god on one side and Horus on the other.

Temple of Kom Ombo

The raised reliefs at Kom Ombo are spectacular.

Raised relief carving