hello and welcome back to a very quiet aswan and that’s because it is 5 am at the moment and today i am taking a day trip to abu simbel after lake nasa and near the border with sudan one of the most famous and impressive ancient egyptian sites in the country and not many people go all the way down there but i have the opportunity to do a day trip here from oswan and i’m very much looking forward to it once again today i am with let’s explore egypt i have my own guide and car ready to go on the three and a half hour journey or so [Music] well on the way towards abu simbel and we have stopped here as you can see it is just desert around there’s nothing a couple of cars going past transporting goods but look at the sunrise behind me there the desert is always one of my favorite places type of landscapes to see in the world especially for the sunrises and sunsets it’s always breathtaking and this one is no different [Music] [Applause] [Laughter] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] after a three and a half hour journey we are now here outside the abu simbel temple complex behind me is the huge sea like artificial lake nasa created after the introduction of the high dam in aswan the abu symbol temple had to be saved from flooding when waters rose and so it was moved piece by piece to the site that it sits at today one of the most incredible places in egypt i can’t wait to finally take a [Music] [Laughter] look [Music] [Applause] um now here inside the abu simbel complex which consists of two temples the first and most famous the one of ramsay’s the second the other dedicated to his wife the temple of hathor it is 240 egyptian pounds to enter however if you want to take videos and pictures on a camera and bring a tripod then you’re gonna have to pay a little bit more mine came to 575 which is quite expensive but i wanted to film a vlog of course so i’m going to start with the most famous which spectacularly reveals itself rams is the second temple as you walk around the corner when you enter and four iconic statues right in the front on its facade built between 1274 and 1244 bc it shows four colossal statues the destroyed one was of ramses the second the other three egyptian gods where he would sit next to them showing his power and strength as king during that time [Applause] [Music] [Music] um [Music] following the ancient egyptian era desert sands shifted and the entire thing became lost in time until in 1813 a swiss explorer found one of the heads of the statues exposed above the sand during an earthquake it was unfortunate that it was ramses statue himself not any of the three gods sitting beside him that was ruined and here we can see his head slight image of the nose in the ear today but his legacy slightly tarnished by natural events before entering we can see here depictions on the wall of all those who followed the kingdom under ramses ii representing those who were in the empire such as iraq lebanon and syria and on the other side those in africa who were part of his kingdom also who all bowed to him [Music] one particularly unique and special thing about this temple that sets it apart is that twice a year on the 21st of october and 21st of february the dates of ramses coronation and his birthday sunlight filters through the temple 70 odd meters and hits his statue sitting beside the other gods such as our moon since the temple was reconstructed though that’s been pushed forward by one day so it’s now the 22nd of february and the 22nd of october and you can visit on one of these days and witness this incredible spectacle not every visitor to egypt makes it as far south as abu simbel logistically it’s a long day trip to do but if you’re able to visit as one after luxor then i would say it’s the best temple i’ve seen so far except i have not been to luxor yet but it trumps everything i’ve seen in us one the fact that it’s over 3000 years old in addition to being completely pulled apart and put back together again in a different location again thanks to unesco this place has a lot to admire [Music] [Music] having left the temple of ramses ii which i could spend hours in i’m now beside the smaller and second temple in the abu simbel complex the temple of hathor dedicated to ramacist ii’s wife who is known as nefertari and there’s six 10 meter statues cut into the rock presenting on the facade an idyllic once again image of these people almost being presented as gods and the fact that she’s the same height as ramses ii shows the equality of women at the time and maybe his respect for her and the fact that they saw each other as equals in their relationship oh it’s an eerie feeling being in a temple by yourself not even a security guard in here with me i can feel the weight of the silence and for the first time you kind of get that moment alone with the inscriptions and art on the wall and the carvings and you just feel the history and it kind of hits you and you feel mesmerized by it it’s hard to explain but there’s certainly something special about being in one of these temples alone the depictions on the wall of this temple are more delicate in nature in comparison to the one next door dedicated to ramses ii as this one is for his wife nefertari named the temple of hathor after the goddess hathor and she’s wearing her clothes in her statue at the facade of the temple this one i suppose represents feminine ancient egypt and the one to ramses ii a more masculine approach just based on the general inscriptions but there’s still violence in this one they’re still fighting to show power but it’s not as intimidating let’s put it as her husband’s temple so finished exploring inside the two temples and what an incredible sight i would definitely recommend coming here sweating flies as i talk if you can fit it in to your trip look how quiet it is obviously it’s covered times but i’m sure if you visit in the next year permitting that it’s safe and you’re okay with certain risks and you do all the precautions then i i doubt there’s going to be many others my tour guide emad give me a wave can you see his wave i can’t see on my camera from here uh he’s been helping to show me around these two temples as he was showing me around as one two he’s from let’s explore egypt and together we’ve been going around as one abby simba and we’ll be doing luxor together you get a driver and a tour guide if you go with these guys link will be in the video description as well now i’m about to leave the area head back north and return to aswan at a stop on the way back from abu simbel to aswan this is the road which cuts through the empty lands of southern egypt here right in the very south that is there is only one stop between the two places and that’s this cafe [Music] [Music] you can see the heat rising above the ground interesting just to observe this kind of landscape i’m going to grab a tea here in the little place and show the one toilet stop that isn’t the desert on the way back pretty cool to just walk across the road the empty road that is no one around but a pretty cool place to chill on the way back from abu simbel i’ve gone with the local carcade as my choice of drink although this is a tea bag not the real authentic version made of dried hibiscus flower petals although there are many places to try it in luxor and as one as well but just the tea bag here available [Music] [Music] um [Laughter] [Music] as you saw there i have just walked on to the princess sarah the cruise that i’m going to be on for the next few nights going through some different nile villages and visiting the temples of comombo and edfu and then finally finishing in luxor that’s all going to be one video showing the nile cruise the food on the boat some of the sunsets from the rooftop and also the temples abu simbel is well worth a visit an absolutely stunning place and a great reminder of the past here in egypt that’s all for this video thank you very much for watching and stay tuned much more coming from this trip [Laughter] [Music] [Applause] peace [Music] you Video source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxgMTs61vSU
