Abu Simbel Temples

We were up at 03:30 am to make the long drive south from Aswan to Abu Simbel Temple!  

Overlooking Lake Nasser, the Temple of Ramses II and the Temple of Hathor together make up the Temples of Abu Simbel.  They are amongst the most well-known and recognisable of Egyptian temples.  As I said in yesterday's blip they were saved from being swallowed by rising waters and lost forever after the building of Aswan High Dam by being moved.  

The Temple of Ramses II was carved out of the mountain on the west bank of the Nile between 1274 and 1244 BCE.  It was rediscovered by chance by the Swiss explorer Jean-Louis Burckhardt in 1813 half buried in the sand. There are four colossal statues, more than 20 metres high, of the Pharaoh Ramses on the temple facade.  Just inside is the Great Hypostyle Hall with eight columns each fronted by an Osiride statue of Ramses II.  The walls are completely covered in reliefs, many showing the pharaoh's prowess in battle and slaughtering his enemies. One shows Ramses in his chariot shooting arrows at his fleeing enemies. 

The smaller Temple of Hathor has a rock-cut facade fronted by six 10 metre high statues of Ramses, his wife Nefertari and some of their children. Nefertari wears the costume of the goddess Hathor and is unusually shown as the same height as her husband, instead of knee height as most consorts were depicted. 

We arrived back in Aswan late afternoon and joined our riverboat for a three day cruise up the Nile to Luxor.

We arrived at Kom Ombo at dusk and went ashore to visit the Temple of Kom Ombo and the Crocodile Museum.  In ancient times Kom Ombo was known as Pa-Sebek (Land of Sobek), after the crocodile god of the region.  The temple is dedicated to two gods: the local crocodile god Sobek and Haroeris, meaning Horus the Elder.  The twin dedication is reflected in the temple's perfectly symmetrical plan and layout.  

The crocodile museum had quite the collection of mummified crocs!