Nobaleh Ramsis Hotel Abu Simbel

... into Egypt. Even today I have a hard time thinking of any place I've been that packs quite the same punch on first sight. The Ramesses carvings are so perfect, so detailed, so huge. And the location, right on the edge of the new Lake Nasser (created by the Dam in the 1960s) reminds us that this temple has been moved 65 m higher and 200 m back from the river to keep it dry. A mind blowing feat of modern ...

... left at about 4am and we drove for about 3 hours. The only way to visit Abu Simbel is as part of these convoys and there are only two per day. One leaves at 4am like we did and the other leaves at 9 a.m. The 9 a.m. one may sound more appealing but considering it was over 30 degrees Celsius when we arrived at Abu Simbel at 7 a.m., imagine how hot it would be at noon.<br>Seeing photos of the complex at Abu Simbel could never do it justice. It's difficult to realize just how huge it is until ...

... person. We were starving and set off in search of a restaurant that was recommended in the guidebook. On our way we encountered person after person trying to sell us something- cruises on the nile, trips to Abu Simbel, taxis, horse drawn carriages. Some of us encountered people trying to buy us. The constant hassle was extrememly aggrevating, especially because it was 130 degrees outside. From now on, assume that there are men constantly surrounding us trying to ...

... the usual offerings and thanks to the god. Its hard to imagine all the outsides and insides were cut into 30cm pieces and moved and reassebled so perfectly. The heat was unbearable..the Nassar Lake looked pretty inviting..despite all the purported crocs! We had a short stop at the cafe or should I say kiosk..pringles or chips were the only options for lunch..before we boarded the plane from Abu Simbel to Aswan. Pretty turbulant fight..so turbulant that the masking tape ...

... scale and detail of the carvings on the outside. That is even after these carvings have been underwater for hundreds of years from the Aswan damn. The USA had helped contribute $20 billion to help rescue this lost treasure. Go USA!<br>Truly amazing that i know the pictures don't reflect but a great stop that should be amongst the wonders of the world. Enjoy<br><br>CMB<br>

... for 5 minutes and then we had to stop while a convoy formed to get us to Abu SImbel - this took 45 mins so im really glad we rushed!!!!!<br><br>Convoys are used in Egypt as there have been a few tourist targeted attacks in the past and they just make sure everything is fine by traveling in a group and as quickly as possible. So at break neck speed we drove to Abul Simbel which took 3.5 hours. I slept for the majority and a nice ...

... confused and not prepared for groups so after some delay we were through to the boarding gate. Ayman explained this was not an issue as the planes all fly on "Egyptian time."<br><br>On arrival in Aswan, Egypt&#8217;s southernmost town, we boarded a bus for a tour of a couple of hours, a great way to fill in time between flights. There are two dam walls here. The first built in 1902 by the British was found to be too small, so the High Dam was built in the 1960&#8217;s and ...

... we did feel safe with all of this security and the reason I hear you asking yourself. Well Abu Simbel is only a few kms away from the Sudan border (as you can see on the map) and they have had some trouble in the pass, but I won't bore you or get your worried about the kidnappings etc that have happened in the past.<br><br>Anyway after all of this we were on our way down to Abu Simbel once the vans started to move we were all pulling Zzzzzs. I remember waking up a bit and ...

... statues of Ramses II watching over any boats sailing into the Pharaoh's lands from the south. Ramses II was quite the warrior / conqueror for his day (maybe the W of his time?) and the walls of the temple are covered with scenes of conquest and superiority. <br><br>Over the centuries, the temple was lost to human memory until it was rediscovered in 1813 and then excavated by the British in the early 20th century. At the time of discovery, only one of the heads was ...

... spaced road signs with the decreasing distance to &#8216;Abu Simbel&#8217;, &#8216;Abu Simble&#8217;, &#8216;Abo Simbel&#8217; and a couple of other variations. Just before 7am we reached our destination, and two hours later we&#8217;d all be back in our vehicles for the return journey back to Aswan. It was a hell of a long way to travel in one morning, but it was worth it. <br><br>The two temples dedicated to Ramses II and his wife Queen ...