Egypt Gift Tours representative will pick you up from your Hotel/Nile Cruise in Aswan from 4 to 4:30 am by air-conditioned minivan or minibus to hit the road to Abu Simbel to start your tour to the fascinate colorful temples of Abu Simbel (Sharing a small group). Drive for about 280 kilometers, approx. 3 hours through the Egyptian desert and watch the sunrise over the mountains.
Arrive at Abu Simbel where you will meet your Egyptology tour guide who will explain to you the story of the two magnificent temples. The two temples were cut by the king Ramses II (1279 B.C) where he dedicated the great temple for himself and the small one for his wife Nefertari; as a symbol of his superiority over Egypt’s traditional Nubian foe.
The first discovery of these temples was in 1813 A.D by Switzerland Burchard while the whole appearance was 1917 A.D by Italian traveler Belzoni. Ramses II’s temple: A rock cut temple with four gigantic statues of the king Ramses who is represented seated on the throne of Egypt with his big family. The temple was carved by the king to commemorate his birthday and coronation day. Nefetari’s temple: It is an amazing small temple dedicated by the king to his favorite Nubian wife. It consists of a quite big facade with 6 massive statues followed by a colonnade and sanctum. Colorful decorated pillars are showing up the association of the queen with her favorite goddess Hathor
Abu Simbel complex is not only the most unusual in the whole of Egypt, but also represents the success of the Egyptian government and UNESCO to save the Nubian temples from the rising of the water of lake Naser after building the high dam in 1960. Your tour guide will give you some free time to explore the two temples from inside as no guiding inside and take memorial photos.
Drive in comfort back to your hotel/Nile cruise in Aswan..
