You will be picked up from your hotel (05.00AM) to drive south past local villages towards Aswan, after which we continue through the desert to Abu Simbel. 3,000 years ago Ramses II build these monumental temples for himself and his beloved wife Nefertari. The walls are adorned with scenes of his victory at the Battle of Kadesh. The facade of the Great Temple is 35m high and 30m long. On February 22 and October 22 sunlight penetrates the inner sanctuary to illuminate 3 statues at the back wall. Only the 4th statue of Ptah, God of the Underworld, remains in darkness. The Smaller Temple is dedicated to Nefertari, depicted as the Goddesses Isis and Hathor.
From 1964-68, UNESCO set forth an initiative to move both temples to a plateau on the cliffs to protect them from flooding. The temples were dismantled, moved 60m up the cliff that they originally stood on and were reassembled. After gazing at these Nubian Monuments, you will have lunch and be brought back to your Luxor hotel (22.00).
