A day trip to the Temples of Abu Simbel
Seeing as Egypt has been in the news a lot lately I thought I'd share this day trip with you.
The Abu Simbel Temples are two massive rock structures situated in Nubia (Southern Egypt) on the West bank of Lake Nasser.
When the Aswan High Dam was built in the 1960's this structure would have been flooded by the resulting Lake Nasser, so in 1968 work started to relocate it some 65 meters higher and 200 meters back from the River Nile.
Work was carried out under the banner of UNESCO and cost $40 million to complete.
The resultant reconstruction is one of the most visited tourist sites in the world.
This blog, hopefully, gives you a taste of that day out.
To get to Abu Simbel either a road trip of around 300km under armed guard or a short flight to the purpose built airport.
We're going by air and our journey starts at a very quiet Aswan Airport.
Don't worry, thats not camera shake ...it really is like that.
Heathrow was never like this !!
Our plane awaits.
As we approach Abu Simbel we catch a quick glimpse of the Temples through the dusty plane windows.
A lot of these photos are taken on the move through dirty glass...sorry about the poor quality.
Abu Simbel arrival.
A short coach ride under armed guard and then a short walk bring us to our objective.
The massive Temples built by Pharoah Ramesses 11 as a lasting monument to himself and Queen Nefertari.
Its impossible to get a clear shot without people on the photo but it at least shows you the scale of the structure!
Mr & Mrs Ramasses.
Note the date of the grafiti on this one.
This is known as 'The key of Life'.
I bought an alabaster replica...well you never know.
Baboon carvings above the heads of the statues.
Me and Sheryl (my missus) with Lake Nasser in the background.
Beautiful flowers and shrubs on the walk back to the coach.
Abu Simbel Village. Unaccompanied visits are not allowed. Such is the nature of Egypt.
As you can tell, these photos had to be taken from a moving coach.
Finally we board our plane for the short flight back to Aswan.
If you stuck with this, then I thank you and I hope you enjoyed our trip to see one of the most famous structures in the world.
Sorry about some of the picture quality.
If you would like to know more please click on the link below:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Simbel_temples
- Jim Miller's blog
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Thanks Jim!, pretty cool place, great pics. Thanks for posting - though I might have survived without the legs... lol
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Good one, Jim. I want to go! :) Thanks for sharing.
Best wishes, Mike
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Dupe, please remove!
Best wishes, Mike
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Great blog Jim. Thanks for posting I found it very interesing. Not been there but did a 10 mile hike in the desert in August, it was a bit warm.
Shame about the knees.
Dave.
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Hi Jim, shows you how naive I am, I thought someone called Abu Simbel had created a blog and you wanted to draw our attention to it.....doh!! lol
Seriously though, thanks for this blog, I have never wanted to go there, I don't know why, but I really enjoyed looking through your blog!
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Fantastic stuff Jim, always been fascinated by Egypt since a project on Tutan- whatsisname back in my school days.
I thinks these are the sort of places that you have to actually be there to understand the scale of the thing.
Excellent stuff, really enjoyed looking and reading.
Cheers
Ian
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Great photographs with really interesting details. The blog is put together really well and makes a facinating read. I really enjoyed this blog.
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Nice informative blog Jim!!
Dave!!
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Great blog, a truly amazing place by the looks of it, no excuse for those shorts though! lol Steve.
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Super blog, Im so jealous. I really want to go there after visiting Luxor and the Valley of the Kings but hubby refuses to go back to Egypt. Maybe one day....
Liz
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Great informative blog! Thank you. Looks amazing, dont think without being there you can truly appreciate the scale of it!
Not on my 'to do' list though, but good to see with you
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Great Jim - one of 'my places to visit' but not as high on the list as some others. And I'm old enough to remember them moving it!! That was a feat worthy of the Ancient Egyptians
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Nice one Jim. Good pictures with interesting information. Thanks for telling us about it.
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Amazing stuff Jim. Thanks for pointing me to this blog.
Laurie
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Great photos - great blog.
Maybe, Egypt will be a safer place to visit in the future?
Thanks for sharing
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I would love to see these Jim, They look amazing. I went to Luxor and Cairo many yrs ago and was on the points of booking to go bqack in October this yr when it all blew up. Fingers crossed it will calm down soon and I can do just that.
Next time I hope to include Abu Simbel, your photos make me even more determined, what a fantastic site they must be.
Thank you for sharing and showing your experience, I really enjoyed it. Best wishes Pam.
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I do not know how I managed to get 2 on here Jim. Cannot delete this one. Sorry x
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You've excelled yourself Jim,great blog
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Interesting Thank You
Chris xx
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Thanks for sharing Jim - the key is an Ankh xxxx
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interesting with some very nice images
enjoyed liked ya wife lol
nice to see places like that
well done jim
paul....................
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well done Jim nice blog can learn from it
Eddie
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Great blog Jim. Wow to think how long ago those were built and the 'graffiti' inscribed on them; it's incredible!! Really interesting narrative too and some great images.
Thanks for putting it together and sharing.
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Angie,
Just out of interest, what is at the top of your to do list?
I might be able to do a blog just for you.
Jim
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Looks like an amazing location - think you did it proud with your pictures. The Egyption blog gods are shining on you right now!
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I looked at this last night and could have sworn I commented on it Jim. Anyway at the risk of repeating myself. well done M8, cracking shots on this start to finish journey.
Great stuff.
Cheers M8y
Steve
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Steve,
You can't have, I only put it on this morning because it was raining.
Glad you liked it anyway
Jim
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Great blog, Jim. I guess you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed my recent trip to Egypt. Were you on a cruise?
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Great blog, up to your usual high standard!
Liked
Kev
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Great blog, Jim... not a country I`ve ever wanted to visit, (not that I`d get the other half there, he`d rather visit the Arctic!!).... but super pictures, & jolly interesting
Mary-Ann
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Marion,
I've done both and I too prefer the Arctic.
Rosemary,
We did both, Cairo and then followed up with a cruise. We've toured the world and would not go back to Egypt. We got off the tourist trail and its not pretty !
Thanks Kev....I'll get back to your Red Kites later.
Jim
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A very interesting blog,like the pics of the temples.Thankyou for sharing.
Kathleen
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Hi Jim. Wonderful photoblog again with super interesting photography and narrative. We just got back from Lanzarote last night. (Playa Blanca) I was thinking about your Lanzarote photoblog while I was away. We did the Grand Island Tour this time. We were booked to go to Tunisia and should still be there now but it was rearranged to Lanzarote instead. We are also due to go on a Cruise in a few weeks to Egypt taking in Cairo and other places not open to visitors yet...so we are awaiting news on the itinery. Hubby wants to see the pyramids and museums though it's not top of my lists to visit. Enjoy your next travels. Best wishes Alison
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Thanks for this Jim, never been to Egypt but you have wetted my appetite with this blog.
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Very interesting blog Jim, good shots of some impressive structures.
Kev.
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Great blog, Jim. I loved the pics. I've always been interested in The Egyptians so it was fascinating to see the temples.
Karen.
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James, most of what I have been thinking about this blog has already been said, but it very much worth saying again that it is indeed a fine piece of work. You have a keen eye for the 'right' shot, and your love of travel shines out of your writing and photographs.
Very nice.
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Great Blog Jim of a true wonder of the world. We went by coach when we went there and wished we had done it by air afterwards. Your pictures are much better than ours too. We traveled in a convoy of coaches so we sort of made our own surge of visitors
Egypt really is one of the must visit places and we really hope the present unrest there is sorted out soon before some of these world treasures are lost to neglect or worse.
Thanks for pointing us towards your blog otherwise we would have missed it.
Regards
Cesar and Dave
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Great travel blog Jim, read a lot about Egypt, never been, my Dad was there, ( great war), he had EGYPT tattooed on his forearm and I also have an embroidered tray cloth with "To Mother" on it which was made there. That's the nearest I've got to Egypt, would love to go, thanks for the next best thing.
Afterthought, one of these photo,s makes me think of .....It ain't arf' hot Mum, I don't know why
Delia
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Couldn't be bothered to look, but if I did I would say, well done Jim!
We too travelled by coach, air fair too expensive, and I was sick!
Interesting dialogue with good pictures. I don't think I even took a camera there?!
Jen xx
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Jim, i can feel the heat from here!!! Great shots and very interesting too, i even enjoyed those legs hehee
Thanks for posting, im so jealous!!!
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A most interesting blog Jim, excellent narrative, superb detailed shots of the Temples
enjoyed it, very much, Thanks for sharing with us.
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Thanks for this Jim.
You sometimes wonder if the armed guards are there for your protection or to stop you from visiting the locals.
A set of very clear and clean pictures.
Well done.
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Great blog Jim. Good information and some super shots. I remember seeing on the TV in the 60's/70's when the work was being done and I thought at the time that it was an amazing piece of engineering to save such spectacular monuments.
Well done. I look forward to hearing about your next holiday.
Alan
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Nice blog Jim, as if you have literally taken me to Egypt. We too have culturally important places of which I will put in a blog with what I have. Must visit the North Central sometime to get some more photographs.
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Great Blog Jim Amazing the Condition of some of the Relics Must have been a Great trip Thanks for Sharing
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Great blog Jim, lovely pics especially the statues, well done
Dave
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Nice blog Jim, I really had missed it. Are those mean fuji friends talking about your knees or the ones on the statues ?????? No comment lol. You and yours don't half get about. Makes for good blogging material though.
Nice one Jim Regards Christine
Christine
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Jim This is the only way to contact you as an email will be generated to you. Look at Cal's blog and there is a suggestion to you. See if it is worth.
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Better late then never Jim. Great images, love the key of life photo, it looks well used!! and mr and mrs Ramasses images. also good to see the photographer!!. If you ever vist my neck of the woods you might find this interesting, although as I remember, you cannot take photo's inside castle.
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Rob
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