Day 01
Explore the Abu Simbel Temples from Aswan
- Meet your tour guide, who will pick you up from your hotel in Aswan at 4:30 a.m.
- Proceed to explore the great Temple of the Sun of god Ramses II at Abu Simbel and the Temple of his beloved wife, Princess Nefertari. Located in Nubia near Egypt's southern border, the Abu Simbel Temples are among the most awe-inspiring monuments of Egypt. They were cut into the living rock by King Ramesses II (the Great) of the Nineteenth Dynasty, around 1264 BC. Abu Simbel Temple is most well known for the four imposing seated colossal statues that dominate its facade. One of these collapsed because of an ancient earthquake, and its fragments can still be seen on the ground. Another rock-cut temple to the north, known as the Small Temple, is dedicated to the goddess Hathor and Ramesses II's great royal wife, Queen Nefertari. On the facade of the Small Temple, her colossi are the same size as those of her husband, a very rare example of such a display. The two temples were moved from their original location in 1968 after the Aswan High Dam was built, which threatened to submerge them. The relocation was completed thanks to an international effort led by UNESCO, and the temples were admitted to the list of World Heritage Sites in 1979.
- Return to Aswan for lunch and stay.
