Two Weeks in Egypt - October 2012

Day Twelve: Abu Simbel and then back to Cairo

Our last breakfast on board our ship. Then most of us headed for the airport for the flight further south to Abu Simbel, site of the huge rock carvings of Ramesses II. We spent about 2 hours at the site, then back to the airport for a flight back to Aswan and on to Cairo. This was our last day as tourists. After an overnight stay and morning in Cairo we flew back to Dubai, overnight in a hotel and then on to Sydney, Auckland and finally Wellington and home.

Strange creatures in our cabin

During our time on the cruise boat, we had a keen cabin boy who looked after our cabin, cleaning, replacing the towels etc. He also spent some time creating strange creatures out of the towels and bedding. Here are his five creations!

A flower?	Swans?	An elephant....
A crocodile !	And on the last night - a mummy on the phone ?!!	And a reminder as we left the ship - we had a good time with TuYa Cruises

Abu Simbel

Abu Simbel lies at the soutern border of the kingdom of Ramesses II. He constructed the huge carvings and temples as a reminder to his neighbours of his power to his power. The complex was relocated to this site in 1968 to escape the rising waters of Lake Nasser. There are two temples, one to Ramesses II as a lasting monument to himself and to commemorate his alleged victory at the Battle of Kadesh and to intimidate his Nubian neighbors. The other temple is to his queen Nefertari.

Leaving Abu Simbel Airport	Following the path to the Temple,
That looks a bit artificial ....	beside the lake with local cruise boats	Around the corner....
And there they are, the most most colossal carvings.
Ramesses II looking out from his Kingdom.	No photos allowed inside the temples	The flashes will fade the colours
But there is plenty of light
	Photos - not me! See, none on this new memory card.....	A pause in the shade.
Commemorating the event of moving the whole complex out of the way of the rising lake.	The carvings.....	really are huge....
The horse has lots of back legs - how else can you show it is running fast into battle?	Now only two legs - walking in victory
Leaving the site from the other side	Climbing over the hill.	Young visitors in colourful dress
back to the buses - "Happy Year Transport".....	We paused in the shade.	And went inside Abu Simbel airport. That was the end of our travels around Egypt.

Our last morning in Cairo

After flying back from Abu Simbel we had a few hours at the hotel in Cairo before we braved the traffic and headed back to the airport. To our surprise there are some green spaces in the city.

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Last updated: 02/07/2017