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June 12
Day 32
Contiki Day 23
Aswan,
EGYPT
Day 32
Contiki Day 23
Aswan,
EGYPT
Abu Simbel
Click the pic to view all photos for this entry.
Click the pic to view all photos for this entry.
Abu Simbel
The Journey...
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~*OPTIONAL*~ Abu Simbel
The temple of Ramses II at Abu Simbel is more than 3,000 years old and is one of Egypt's most magnificent monuments. Modern technology was used to move it in the 1960's to a higher site, out of the way of the waters of the Lake Nasser dam. The excursion includes travel by plane to and from the site, which is often un-reachable by road. Not to be missed! -Contiki
$189.00 USD
The temple of Ramses II at Abu Simbel is more than 3,000 years old and is one of Egypt's most magnificent monuments. Modern technology was used to move it in the 1960's to a higher site, out of the way of the waters of the Lake Nasser dam. The excursion includes travel by plane to and from the site, which is often un-reachable by road. Not to be missed! -Contiki
$189.00 USD
This morning I rolled out of bed feeling a little strange. I wasn’t sick, but every once in a while I’d feel suddenly fatigued. The feeling would come and go a few times per hour and I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. I still had a good appetite and wasn’t too tired to do anything. It was a strange sensation, but for the most part I just dismissed it as a side effect from the extreme heat.
I wasn’t the only one feeling ill today. Tiana was also sick, although much worse than me. She was feeling nauseated, dizzy, and physically drained. To me, it sounded like she was suffering from dehydration. It didn’t keep her from missing today’s events, though. Temperatures were going to climb to the low 40's today and she was still a trooper and didn’t let anything keep her down.
I wasn’t the only one feeling ill today. Tiana was also sick, although much worse than me. She was feeling nauseated, dizzy, and physically drained. To me, it sounded like she was suffering from dehydration. It didn’t keep her from missing today’s events, though. Temperatures were going to climb to the low 40's today and she was still a trooper and didn’t let anything keep her down.
We arrived at the temple and approached from the rear. There were markets galore outside the entrance and they looked to be as chaotic as the ones in Aswan. I really wanted to look through them before leaving, but at the same time I dreaded having to deal with the pushy merchants. Near them was a security area where Muhammad bought our tickets for us and we were allowed to enter. On the other side we saw the back of Abu Simbel which just looked like a big hill. We followed Muhammad around to the front where we were greeted with the spectacular entrance to King Ramsesses’ temple, and next to it the temple for his wife, Nefertari. The temples faced Lake Nasser and were much bigger than they looked from the plane. The sight of them was breathtaking. We just stood there in the heat, staring at them in awe. Muhammad had us gather around him to tell us a bit about the temples before letting us venture inside.
Both temples were moved from their original location in the 1960's due to the rising of the Nile River. Within four years, archeologists and engineers cut the temple up into small blocks, moved to their new location, and rebuilt them exactly as they were. Their work was practically seamless. Some consider their work to be one of the greatest engineering miracles ever conceived. I honestly couldn’t believe it with my own eyes. Except for the odd line in a few spots, you couldn’t even tell that the temples had been chopped into bits.
Both temples were moved from their original location in the 1960's due to the rising of the Nile River. Within four years, archeologists and engineers cut the temple up into small blocks, moved to their new location, and rebuilt them exactly as they were. Their work was practically seamless. Some consider their work to be one of the greatest engineering miracles ever conceived. I honestly couldn’t believe it with my own eyes. Except for the odd line in a few spots, you couldn’t even tell that the temples had been chopped into bits.
We entered Ramsesses’s temple and the inside was as seamless as the outside. On top of that, the paintings and hieroglyphics on the walls and pillars were amazingly well preserved. The temple had several rooms inside, all with different paintings of random historical meanings. At the entrance, the security guard took a picture of me holding the door’s key called “The Key of Life” for 1€. It was in the shape of an ankh and very heavy. I’m curious to know if that’s the original key or a replica - if it was original then it would have been made out of pure gold.
We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside the temples, but after seeing Ryan sneaking a few I decided to do the same. Ryan’s ended up turning out a lot better than mine, but I’m still glad I have a reminder of what the inside looked like. It felt about 10° cooler in the temple too. I still wasn’t feeling all that great, but Tiana was suffering pretty badly in the heat. She took a moment to rest in the cool temple before walking over to Nefertari’s.
We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside the temples, but after seeing Ryan sneaking a few I decided to do the same. Ryan’s ended up turning out a lot better than mine, but I’m still glad I have a reminder of what the inside looked like. It felt about 10° cooler in the temple too. I still wasn’t feeling all that great, but Tiana was suffering pretty badly in the heat. She took a moment to rest in the cool temple before walking over to Nefertari’s.
Queen Nefertari’s temple, although smaller, was just as spectacular inside as Ramsesses’. Her face was carved in the pillars along the main hallway and the wall paintings were also very vivid. As I stood inside the temple, I tried to picture what It would have been like 3,000 years ago. I imagined the days when the King and Queen would walk through the temple and their subjects would come to make offerings. It was remarkable to be standing somewhere that dated back to the beginnings of civilization. It makes me wonder, though - why is it that ancient Egypt, a powerful empire, had completely died out over time? I mean, the Egyptians are still around, but considering they had such a head start on an advanced civilization, I’m surprised that in some ways they haven’t progressed as far as European culture. Maybe it’s a question that can never be answered... or maybe I should Google it and see what I find. Either way, after my time in Egypt I’m even more intrigued by their culture and past.
We left the hotel at 8:30am for the Aswan airport. Our next destination: Abu Simbel - a 3,000 year old temple located 290 km south of Aswan at Lake Nasser near the boarder with Sudan. Because of weather and road conditions, the temple isn’t always reachable by driving, so we were going to fly.
We arrived at the airport and had an hour’s wait before our flight departed. The airport had lots of shops selling Egyptian souvenirs and the merchants didn’t harass us. It was nice to be able to browse in peace. I bought a few things including some postcards and a singing camel. There was also a western-style coffee shop (like a Starbucks) in the airport, so Mel and I (the coffee addicts) had a few espressos while we waited.
I was expecting to be on a propeller plane, but it ended up being a standard Airbus 316 jet. It was packed too. It seems that the flight from Aswan to Abu Simbel is a popular with tourists. The flight only took about thirty minutes and it seemed like we began our descent as soon as we took off. I love short flights. During our descent I saw Abu Simbel temple out the window as we flew over. I was able to snap a quick picture of it, but didn’t have enough time to zoom in. Thankfully you can still tell it's is in the picture. When we landed in the town, we boarded a bus waiting to drive to the temple.
We arrived at the airport and had an hour’s wait before our flight departed. The airport had lots of shops selling Egyptian souvenirs and the merchants didn’t harass us. It was nice to be able to browse in peace. I bought a few things including some postcards and a singing camel. There was also a western-style coffee shop (like a Starbucks) in the airport, so Mel and I (the coffee addicts) had a few espressos while we waited.
I was expecting to be on a propeller plane, but it ended up being a standard Airbus 316 jet. It was packed too. It seems that the flight from Aswan to Abu Simbel is a popular with tourists. The flight only took about thirty minutes and it seemed like we began our descent as soon as we took off. I love short flights. During our descent I saw Abu Simbel temple out the window as we flew over. I was able to snap a quick picture of it, but didn’t have enough time to zoom in. Thankfully you can still tell it's is in the picture. When we landed in the town, we boarded a bus waiting to drive to the temple.
After having lots of time to explore Abu Simbel, we left the security area to go to our meeting point. We arrived with a few minutes to spare, so I thought I’d be brave and look through the markets. As suspected, as soon as I went in any of the shops I was greeted with an overly-eager merchant yelling “My friend! My friend! Let me show you something!”. That was their common pick-up line and my automatic response was to quickly exit the shop as soon as I heard it. There was one thing I really wanted to buy, though - an Egyptian shirt. There was a man wandering around selling them and I bartered him down from $20.00 to $5. When I tried to put the shirt on, it was cut and sewn so unevenly that it didn’t fit properly. It still turned out to be one of my favorite souvenirs, though. It just looks so cool.
We boarded the coach and were driven to the airport for our flight back to Aswan. I was starting to feel even more nauseated than I did this morning and flying didn’t help. I tried to drink extra water so I wouldn’t become dehydrated, but it started to make me feel a little sick when I tried to swallow it. Not a good sign. Today marked the first day for a series of illnesses that would be bothersome for several days to come.
When we got back to the hotel, Amy, Peggy, Mila and Alexis, who hadn’t gone to Abu Simbel, had been drinking all day at the hotel. They didn’t seem to do much besides drink while in Egypt. Some people wondered why they didn’t do the Mykonos option, but I was glad they were with us. I found that they had a way of lightening up the mood and keeping a carefree attitude. Being here was much more physically and mentally demanding than anything we’d experience in Europe, so it was nice to have people around that didn’t seem bothered when things got tough. Plus, the train ride yesterday would have been hellish if I didn’t have them to drink with.
We had a couple hours to chill at the resort before we had to catch our train to Luxor. I drank some water mixed with the re-hydration powder I bought in Corfu and prayed that it would make me feel better. It didn’t. I wasn’t feeling bad enough to not be able to do anything, but the nausea and weakness was definitely getting worse. It would still only hit me a few times per hour, so luckily I was feeling fine most of the time.
In the early evening we went back to the train station and boarded our three hour train ride to Luxor. Three hours seemed like nothing compared to our previous 14.5 hour journey. On the way I forced myself to drink a whole 2L bottle of water and we played some games to pass the time. Ryan passed around a sheet of paper and we played the game where each person adds one sentence to form a story. When Ryan read the story aloud, the end result was a disgusting, perverted jumbled mess filled with inside jokes and sexual innuendoes. I loved it! It didn’t surprise me at all. I think almost everyone thought it was hilarious. After that, a bunch of us played a game called “Would you rather”. Each person poses two different scenarios and everyone has to say which one they would rather do. I think I took second place for the most disgusting scenarios: Would you rather suck the puss out of a massive tumor on a horse’s neck OR Would you rather eat the meat off a severed human arm? Yeah, I know it’s pretty gross but we were all coming up with some pretty disgusting stuff. At least it helped pass the time. Luke’s scenarios definitely took first place, but they’re too disgusting/offensive to repeat. I’m pretty sure you’re computer monitor would explode if they were displayed here. Plus, I don’t want to he held responsible for my readers choking on their own vomit.
We boarded the coach and were driven to the airport for our flight back to Aswan. I was starting to feel even more nauseated than I did this morning and flying didn’t help. I tried to drink extra water so I wouldn’t become dehydrated, but it started to make me feel a little sick when I tried to swallow it. Not a good sign. Today marked the first day for a series of illnesses that would be bothersome for several days to come.
When we got back to the hotel, Amy, Peggy, Mila and Alexis, who hadn’t gone to Abu Simbel, had been drinking all day at the hotel. They didn’t seem to do much besides drink while in Egypt. Some people wondered why they didn’t do the Mykonos option, but I was glad they were with us. I found that they had a way of lightening up the mood and keeping a carefree attitude. Being here was much more physically and mentally demanding than anything we’d experience in Europe, so it was nice to have people around that didn’t seem bothered when things got tough. Plus, the train ride yesterday would have been hellish if I didn’t have them to drink with.
We had a couple hours to chill at the resort before we had to catch our train to Luxor. I drank some water mixed with the re-hydration powder I bought in Corfu and prayed that it would make me feel better. It didn’t. I wasn’t feeling bad enough to not be able to do anything, but the nausea and weakness was definitely getting worse. It would still only hit me a few times per hour, so luckily I was feeling fine most of the time.
In the early evening we went back to the train station and boarded our three hour train ride to Luxor. Three hours seemed like nothing compared to our previous 14.5 hour journey. On the way I forced myself to drink a whole 2L bottle of water and we played some games to pass the time. Ryan passed around a sheet of paper and we played the game where each person adds one sentence to form a story. When Ryan read the story aloud, the end result was a disgusting, perverted jumbled mess filled with inside jokes and sexual innuendoes. I loved it! It didn’t surprise me at all. I think almost everyone thought it was hilarious. After that, a bunch of us played a game called “Would you rather”. Each person poses two different scenarios and everyone has to say which one they would rather do. I think I took second place for the most disgusting scenarios: Would you rather suck the puss out of a massive tumor on a horse’s neck OR Would you rather eat the meat off a severed human arm? Yeah, I know it’s pretty gross but we were all coming up with some pretty disgusting stuff. At least it helped pass the time. Luke’s scenarios definitely took first place, but they’re too disgusting/offensive to repeat. I’m pretty sure you’re computer monitor would explode if they were displayed here. Plus, I don’t want to he held responsible for my readers choking on their own vomit.
We arrived at our hotel in Luxor around 10:30pm and had a very late dinner. As soon as we ate everybody headed straight to their rooms and went to bed. After showering and trying to drink more water, I think I fell asleep around 12:30. Our hotel was once again very nice, but we wouldn’t be able to enjoy it since we had to be up by 4:30am to depart for our hot-air balloon ride.
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