Last Saturday morning we took the bus down to Abu Simbel. Three hours there, three hours back - but worth every bumpy mile - an amazing place, probably the highlight of Egypt so far - for me at least. The temple lies deep in the heart of the desert, miles and miles from the nearest habitation - as these things should be, not in the suburbs of Cairo like the Pyramids. From a gigantic monolith workers carved a temple and four colossal statues – each one a seated figure of Ramses II - supposedly the greatest pharaoh of them all. Built in the 13th century BC, the temple had over the following three millennia become buried beneath the sands and wiped from memory. It wasn't rediscovered until 1813, when a young Swiss explorer by the name of Burkhardt tripped over it, almost literally - at the time just a small part of one statue poked through the sands. Over the next 25 years archaeologists worked to uncover the temple from beneath the desert, until finally it stood proud overlooking the Nile once more - although built to honour Ramses - it was also a show of power to travellers entering the land of the pharaohs by river from the south. However, the most remarkable story regading Abu Simbel survival was still to come. Some 150 years after Burkhardt finding the temple, it was destined to be submerged again - this time under the rising waters of Lake Nasser - a man made lake which was being formed after the building of the Aswan High Dam. The temple was only saved thanks to an incredible and massive UNESCO project which saw the entire temple and the cliff out of which it is carved, dismantled and reassembled on higher ground redirecting the magnificent stare of Ramses II across Lake Nasser's blue waters. You can still see how close we came to losing these statues - forever submerged beneath the lake - by the watermarks around their bases. We spent a couple of hours strolling around the temple, our tame Egyptologist on hand again with explanations for this and that, but I just preferred to wander along at my own pace, stroke the pillars and marvel at what a place this must have been - indeed, still is. The power that such a place must have held over the people - it even gave me, super-sized cynic that I am, pause for thought that there just might be SOMETHING else. I shot off a couple of rolls of film - you are all gonna be SO bored looking at my photos when I get home!
Back in Aswan, I took afternoon tea at the Cataract Hotel, I was hoping that I'd have retired colonels, the odd Earl, some shady characters or even an author incognito for company - it was here afterall that Agatha Christie wrote Death on the Nile. But the only other people there were other tourists. Still, the cones - topped with jam and cream - and a cup of Earl Grey tea went down well. How wonderful, dahling! The next day was spent on the river, we were cruising north to Edfu, arriving early evening. It was hot, mid-twenties, so I spent the day in the shade at the back (stern?) of the boat where there was a kind of covered terrace, reading my book and sipping beers - most of the group doing likewise which made it rather crowded and not too relaxing - looking forward to being on my own soon! Monday morning, we paid a visit to the temple dedicated to Horus at Edfu. For centuries Edfu was almost completely covered with sand (this happens rather a lot around here I've noticed), but this protected the temple from the elements meaning that it's one of the best preserved sites in Egypt. Reliefs carved into the temple walls depict Horus and other Gods on a grand scale, black granite falcon statues standing over two meters tall and a myriad of secret passageways and hidden rooms lend an eerie - almost sinister feel to the place - I felt as though I was constantly being watched - maybe from another world. Very spooky.
We were in Luxor by the time lunch had been taken on Monday. In ancient times Luxor was the capital of Egypt - then known as Thebes. During our briefing our guide listed an endless number of temples, tombs and museums that we could visit - there was just too much to see - and that's when I felt the sensory overdose coming on. Instead I ambled through the hot dusty streets, soaking up the sights and sounds - have to say though I did get a little fed up with the touts and salesman constantly approaching me until I eventually I wound up at the Movenpick Hotel - a place famed for its ice cream and also for being a rather chilled place to hang out and relax. In fact, so relaxed did I become that I nearly missed dinner back on the boat and the night-time visit to Karnak to watch the Son-et-Lumiere presentation. This was excellent, not in a beautiful or dramatic way - it was just sooo kitsch! For an hour and a half we sat there as an overly dramtic voiceover set against booming operatic music recounted the history of Thebes in a true Hollywood-style extravaganza. The sad part was that the star of the show (Karnak), needed no smoke and mirrors - left to wander alone through the floodlit temple would have been truly dramatic - awesome even - as Jake, one of the American guys noted.
It was back to the boat after the show and straight to bed as we had to be up before sunrise the next morning, to meet a bray(?) of donkeys - sturdy, but stuborn donkeys at that. We were all assigned a donkey(!) and given a quick lesson in how to control them(!!). We then rather haphazzardly set off on the 7km ride to the Valley of the Kings, taking quiet roads with views across green fields leading to the edge of the Nile and the sheer cliffs of the desert beyond. Villagers on their own donkeys passed by, laughing and (no doubt) making rude comments about us before riding on. We left the green fields behind and headed up into the steep, scorched cliffs where the pharaohs once lay in their great sarcophagi. The sun had broken the horizon now, above us a liquid blue sky, ahead the peak of Al-Qurn - I started humming the Anvil Chorus by Verdi. The valley itself was a bit of a disappointment - there's nothing much to see above ground - but once you enter the burial chambers carved deep into the side of the valley it's a different matter. The tombs are covered in incredibly well preserved paintings depicting the gods and goddesses of ancient Egypt and complex hieroglyphics which our guide deciphered. We visited three tombs (Seti I, Amenhotep and Tutankhamun - the famous boy king), and then spent an hour just strolling around this incredible site and turning down touts offering camel rides and to show us other tombs that no one but them knew about ... yeah, right. Later, back in the saddle (ouch), we rode out the other end of the valley, over a hill (no jokes, please) and down into the Nile Valley again - wonderful views of life on the river and Luxor beyond. On the way back to the boat we passed by Deir El Medina, a village constructed soley for the tomb builders and their families, here we clambered over the remains of the houses (all that's left are some walls), but it was really enjoyable - ancient Egypt on a more human scale, a more intimate encounter.
Back on the boat, I spent the rest of the afternoon lounging around, trying to coax my nether regions back into place after being bounced around on the back of that bloody donkey. Several beers numbed the pain. It was hot too - the weather that is, not my bits - way too hot to do anything strenuous, so I just sat and watched life on the river. Mellow. This morning we left the boat behind, boarded a bus and our original group of fifteen headed off on a five hour drive across the desert here to Hurghada - a small town on the edge of the Red Sea which is, if you're into that sort of thing, renowned as one of the world’s great diving locations with spectacular coral gardens and marine life, apparently. Me? I've had all the watery fun and excitement I could want on this trip in the Dead Sea, so I went to the bar, sipped a nice chilled glass of beer and later soaked up the sunshine and relaxed.
Tomorrow we head across the Red Sea to the Sinai Peninsula and then back to Cairo by the weekend. Sunday morning I'll be flying down to Johannesburg - looking forward to having the freedom to do what I want, when I want - three weeks in a tour group are beginning to take their toll! Feel like I've adjusted to life on the road though - senses are constantly heightened and aware. Feel more alive than I have since ... I can't remember - of course it could be the coffee!
Dx