Quick Trip to Abu Simbel

Our trip to Abu Simbel was a quick one. We left Cairo at 10 pm on Thursday night and flew to Aswan. We returned to Cairo mid-afternoon on Saturday. We knew that it would only take us an hour or two to visit Abu Simbel, so it was a quick, easy trip to make.

First thing's first. We arrived at our hotel around midnight. We knew it was a slightly nicer hotel than we usually stay in, but we had no idea what we were getting. We stayed at the Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan. When we checked in, we were given an upgrade to suites. Come to find out, the hotel was built in 1899. Several famous people have stayed at the hotel. Agatha Christie even wrote a book with the setting in the hotel. We had a fantastic time at the hotel, and we would definitely go back if given the opportunity. Here is a video of our room.

Room with a view of the Nile River

So, we got in around midnight and didn't get to sleep until almost 1 am. The next morning we got picked up at 8 am. We had a wonderful breakfast at the hotel before meeting our driver.

Little did we know, Abu Simbel was about a 3-hour drive from Aswan. Great! That gave us a chance to sleep on the ride. Pretty much immediately, though, we were given a video watch. However, I am SO glad we watched it. The video gave us perspective. In the 1960's, Abu Simbel was in danger of being swallowed by the Nile River. The Aswan High Dam was built in the 60's and was significant for Egypt's economy. However, that meant that Abu Simbel, and about 20 other ancient sites, was in danger of being submerged by the Nile River. Luckily, smart people around the world were able to come up with a way to move the entire structure. Below is the video we watched about moving Abu Simbel. I HIGHLY recommend you watch the first 20 minutes of the video.

As I've said in past posts, I am terrible about remembering things our guides tell us. I will give you the basic rundown of what I remember, but I will also put in links so that you can read about it yourself.

Abu Simbel was built around 3000 years ago by King Ramses II. The temple was built, basically, to let people know that he was in charge. It is 66 feet (20 meters) high. The facade of the building contains four statues of Ramses in different stages of his life. It also has his children, his mother, and Queen Nefertari. A smaller temple was built next to it and was dedicated to Nefertari.

Being there was pretty amazing! Oh, yeah! It was also 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius).

I hope you enjoy the videos and pictures below. Please know that while there were signs that said no photography, our guide told us that the Antiquities Ministry just changed the rules about photography. If we paid a fee, we were allowed. I hope we were following the laws!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Key of Life

 

 

 

On a Boat in the Red Sea

This past weekend was a 4-day weekend for us! Wednesday was Sinai Liberation Day, and we were also given Thursday off. Several of us left right after school on Tuesday and drove the 6-7 hours to Safaga, a city located on the coast of the Red Sea. For the next three days, we boarded a boat daily to get in some diving. Friends of ours were also able to do some snorkeling and swimming.

The second day on the boat was cut short because of a sand storm.

 

 

Having lunch

 

 

Zach jumping into the water

 

   

The first video was taken during the sand storm. The second video is the next day - extremely clear! The third video is of one of our dive sites.

One of the evenings we were there, we rode quad bikes into the desert and had a Bedouin dinner. All of the food was cooked over a fire, and it was all so delicious!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was such a relaxing weekend!!