The next morning, we had an early flight from Cairo to Aswan, a city in southern Egypt. Our first stop was the huge Aswan High Dam, which was built along the Nile. The construction of the dam created one of the largest man-made reservoirs, Lake Nasser. This project was completed with help from the Russians, and there is a beautiful monument that highlights and commemorates this cooperative project. While largely considered a success, there is always an opposing perspective; a group of Nubian immigrants were uprooted from their riverside homes for the creation of the dam and the subsequent flooding of the area. The displaced Nubian community was relocated to another area of Aswan and a place we’d be visiting in the evening.
Next stop, and the one I was most excited for was the Philae Temple….our first Egyptian Temple! To get to this temple, we had to make our way down to a concrete dock where we had to get a single boat’s attention and clamor our way on. It was pure chaos, lol. And it was blisteringly hot. This place was already super crowded and filled with huge buses filled to the brim of tourists. If I wasn’t already grateful to have a guide, I sure was now, seeing how our guide, Mohammed, expertly manurvered the swarms of people to get our entry tickets and then to quickly snag a boat for us. I don’t think I’d have the patience or where-with-all to deal with the disorganized mass of people. 😅 It sure was nice having someone else do all the leg work. Thank you, Mohammed!
We make it to the island temple, and I’m instantly in awe. It was MASSIVE! And it wouldn’t be the biggest one we’d see, either. The carvings were so vibrant and clearly visible, with the exception of where some Christians etched out the images. We learned that back in the day, refugee Christians would make small, secret churches inside the temples. They would chisel away the Egyptian carvings and add crosses to their make-shift sancutaries. They’d also cook inside, and many of the temples have blackened ceilings.
By the time we were finished walking around, I felt absolutely exhausted and dehydrated. I don’t think I ever felt like I had enough water while in Egypt. My body would just soak it up and want more.
Our next stop was to see the unfinished obelisk. This was wicked cool, at least for me, hehe. We visited one of the old granite mines the Ancient Egyptians would use to cut a single obelisk out, and eventually extract it by using water ways that led to the Nile, and eventually guiding it to it’s final resting place. This particular unfinished obelisk was nearly carved out, and it suffered a big crack, so it was left abandoned. I cannot imagine spending so much time carving this giant monument by hand, only to leave it because of a crack.
We also stopped by a perfume shop, and I couldn’t help but buy more of the oils..I’m in love with them! If I’m ever lucky enough to go back to Egypt, I’ll be buying more of those, without a doubt! It was a fun experience, too, as they bring you to a small room, offer you refreshments, and then explain the different types of oils and what they’re used for.
We then made our way to a cruise ship, which would be our home for the next 3 nights! Couldn’t believe we’d be going on a Nile cruise! I wanted to do a cruise on the smaller boats, a felucca, but we ended up on a big cruise ship, complete with a pool deck, dining hall, and a spa. This is gonna be gooood. 🙂 We check in, get our cabin, refresh ourselves, and head right back out again. If I haven’t mentioned it before, this was planned on being a whirlwind trip, fitting in as much as possible in 9 days. 😅
We’d be taking a smaller boat down the Nile to a Nubian village for sunset. Talk about another incredible ending to a beautiful day….sailing down the Nile at sunset, the colorful golden sun shining brightly on the desert sand, only to be complemented by the lush fertile banks of the Nile River. Soon, the colorful Nubian houses were visible from the boat, and the excitement of exploring a new place quickly chased away my exhaustion. We arrive and walk around the colorful streets, checking out some of the shops, and our guide takes us to one in particular, where we buy some tea and incense. This is some of the best smelling incense I’ve ever smelt, and I am so excited to bring it home! 🤗
We go to an infamous house that has alligators as pets. What? But why? Lol. I couldn’t imagine why they would have alligators living in the house with them, but then I saw that it’s a way to draw in tourists. Many people visit this traditional Nubian house, where they offer almost any drink you would like, and they have several seating areas over looking the rushing Nile. It was nice to have a relaxing moment after quite a long day.
The next morning I’d be taking a solo trip, as Jaimee wanted to stay on the boat and relax, and also go walk around and explore the bustling city of Aswan. So I set my alarm for something like 3 am, to leave by 4 am for a long car ride to just about the southern most point in Egypt: Abu Simbel. I knew I wanted to do this, as I was highly encouraged to visit by anyone I knew who had gone to Egypt.
These two temples were carefully deconstructed and moved inland to avoid being flooded by the formation of Lake Nasser, the result of building the Aswan High Dam. Pharaoh Ramesses II built the temples here, and the smaller temple was to honor his wife, Nefertari, and the goddess Hathor. Not only did I love the fact that Ramesses built this for his wife, but also that Hathor is the goddess of fertility, beauty, love, and music, among other things. One of her images is that of a cow, symbolizing fertility, which was another reason I felt connected to her (I milked cows for quite a while and loved every minute of it, so cows have become one of my favorite things 😊). I was also starting to have a crush on Ramesses II….he was in power for so long and did so much for Egypt….although all good things come at a price. He was far from a perfect ruler, but I’m amazed at how much he influenced Ancient Egypt and perhaps even the current borders of the country.
The temples at Abu Simbel were so striking I never wanted to leave. Absolutely enormous! The sheer size of the statues was staggering. There were pieces that had fallen, and even those were gigantic. I spent a long time outside the temple before heading inside. Once inside, I found myself amazed at the sheer quantity of carvings…every square inch of this pace was covered. I explored every nook and cranny that I could, suffering from the sweltering heat and lack of air movement inside. I finally emerge back out into the bright, hot sunlight and make my way to the smaller temple of Nefertari. The small temple was just as impressive as the larger one: every wall had some sort of carving or heiroglypic inscription on it.
Once I got my fill of these incredible temples inside and out, we headed back to the car for our journey back to the cruise ship. We get back before sunset, and I go find Jaimee, and we recount our days for each other while enjoying the views as the cruise ship began to make it’s journey up the Nile.
Another long day, right? Yep! And we’re not finished yet! Haha. One more stop for the evening, the Kom Ombo Temple. I was so exhausted at this point, but I can always rally for something amazing. All the cruise ships parked next to each other, and to get off the ship, we had to walk through 3 or 4 of them to get to the pier. That was an experience in and of itself, lol. The temple was a short walk up the hill, and the first views of it lit up at night were stunning!
We make our way there, and our guide tells us the history of the place, and we learn that he can read the hieroglyphs! How cool is that? This temple is dedicated to Horas and Sobek, which is a rare find to have one temple dedicated to more than one God. Sobek is the crocodile God, and the Ancient Egyptians would pray to him to hopefully avoid any dangerous run-ins with the crocodiles in the river. Today, there are no crocodiles, but I can imagine how nerve-wracking it would have been to travel down the river, or live along the banks, knowing that at any moment a crocodile could be waiting for its next meal. Yikes! I’d be praying to the crocodile God, too! Lol
We finally make it back to the ship and call it a night. Can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings! 🙂
Taking Off With Amelia 