Main temple dedicated to the pharaoh at Abu Simbel in South Egypt

The temple at Abu Simbel is actually twin temples, one dedicated to the pharaoh and the other to his primary consort, his queen. In this photo, you are able to see the view of the main temple with the huge statues in front, and a very small section of the hillock that has the other temple, the one for the queen. In these huge temples and the statues, the people in front seem so small and insignificant; but it is tourists like these who now ensure that these temples are well maintained and in great condition.

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Partial view of the statues at the smaller temple in Abu Simbel along with some temples in front

The temple structure of Abu Simbel is essentially twin temples, dedicated to the glory and deification of the pharaoh and his primary consort (which was unusual, since temples to the wives were very few in the history of Egypt). You can see the hillock where the statues are put at the front of the temple (located at the entrance), and the size of the statues becomes pretty clear when you compare the size of the tourists standing in front of the temple.

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A solitary tourist and a police officer near the huge statues of the smaller temple at Abu Simbel

Typically, tourists arrive at the Abu Simbel temple complex in south Egypt in groups, since tourist operators are only allowed to travel there in convoys, twice a day. This was primarily for security purposes ever since a few terrorists strikes some years back on tourists threatened to destroy Egypt's tourism industry. I was waiting for an occasion when I could get photos of the temple without any tourists in the photo, but at last I gave up since this did not seem possible, so even this photo was something that I was fine with.

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Space near the front of the Abu Simbel temple in Egypt along with the lake waters

Some of the space in front and to the side of the Abu Simbel temple in south Egypt. Even though there was a river flowing next door (much expanded now since the waters levels increased after the formation of the Lake Nasser with the construction of the dam at Aswan), the region mostly seems like a desert with dry and sandy surface. So, there are a few trees (which actually seem out of place) along with some facilities for the tourists who come to this location. The view of the lake is great from this location and looks good overall.

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Side view of tourists in front of the statues and hillock of the Abu Simbel temple in Egypt

View from the side of tourists in front of the Abu Simbel temple in south Egypt. There are not too many tourists, since more people go to see the pyramids and the Valley of Kings than coming to Abu Simbel; Abu Simbel is located some distance (280 km) from the nearest center of population (Aswan city) and a number of tourists avoid the trip. At Abu Simbel, there are 2 cave temples built into hillocks, with massive statues at the front. What you see in this photo are tourists standing in front of the hillock, being dwarfed by the size of the statues.

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Men praying in a small green space near the Abu Simbel temple complex in Egypt

Abu Simbel is a famous tourist destination in the southern part of Egypt, famous also for it being saved from being submerged after a grand engineering feat. It is protected and has a number of visitors, and hence has a fair number of security personnel and tourism ministry officials at the site. This is a photo of the men doing their Islamic prayers at the site, done as per the desired time of the day, and done in a direction such that they face Mecca.

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Tourists outside the smaller temple of the Abu Simbel temple complex

A view of some tourists outside the smaller temple in the Abu Simbel complex; the larger temple is dedicated to the great pharaoh while the smaller temple is dedicated to his wife and apparently the primary consort. In the statues at the gate of this smaller temple, there are equal sized statues of the pharaoh and his wife, which was remarkable since in all other such construction, the statue of the wife is much smaller than that of the pharaoh.

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View of small hillocks while on the route to Abu Simbel in south Egypt

The road route from Aswan to Abu Simbel is around 280 km by road, but it takes only around 3 hours for the journey. The journey is mostly uneventful, with a straight road and no obstructions, but in the distance there are hills that are seen from time to time. This is a photo of that journey, somewhere in the middle where there were some hills to be seen in the distance.

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Shadow of a palm tree next to the Abu Simbel temple in South Egypt

When I took the photo, the entire scenario looked very artistic, with the shadow of a palm tree falling in the middle of the photo composition, and with a wide sweeping background in the distance. In the middle distance can be seen the fence which marks the boundary of the Abu Simbel statue, and in the sky, cloud and blue sky both were present in equal numbers. On either side of the image, one can see tree sections on both sides.

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Trees and a path around the hillocks that contain the Abu Simbel temple in Egypt

A view of the trees and the path that surround the temple of Abu Simbel in south Egypt. The twin temples have been placed on and inside 2 hillocks, not occupying too much space. Around the hillocks, there is a path that takes a person on a small round of the hillock, although there is not much to see at the back of the hillock. And for such a sandy area, there are many trees nearby (but then the Nile is also very close, so that would help).

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Front entrance of the smaller temple and its statues at Abu Simbel

The front section of the smaller temple of Abu Simbel in the southern portion of Nubia, Egypt. This is a temple that is remarkable for many reasons - it was built away from population centers, mostly as a indicator to visitors from the south about the grandeur of the pharaoh and of Egypt; it was a temple that was going to be submerged with the construction of the High Dam at Aswan; and the temple had a smaller temple for the queen which also had statues of the queen and the pharaoh at the same height - probably the most remarkable item.

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Tourists along with their guide at the temple of Abu Simbel in south Egypt

A group of tourists outside the temple at Abu Simbel. When we had gone to Egypt to visit many of the more famous attractions over there, we had a guide (as part of the tourist package). The guide was very helpful in being able to explain the history of the place, which pharaoh constructed it, and overall the history of the place. The visit to the temples really do not take too long, not more than a couple of hours, since the entire complex is fairly small.

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Smooth surface on the hillock hosting the temple at Abu Simbel

The temples of Abu Simbel are essentially twin temples, one for the pharaoh, and one for the queen. When they were brought up from their original location (to avoid being submerged by the rising water), both these temples were placed in hillocks with large statues on the outside. In this specific case, this is a smooth surface on the surface of the hillock, and since nature normally does not create smooth surfaces on hills, it must have originally been an opening that was later painted over or covered with a surface of rock.

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Tourists at a metal structure near the Abu Simbel temple in south Egypt

As you cross the twin temples (set into hillocks) of the Abu Simbel temple, at a very short distance (a few meters from the smaller temple) is this metal structure. From a distance, it looked like there was an attempt to make a covered structure, where the base would be the metal base, but the upper part (even if that uses a temporary tent type of covering) is not complete.

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The 4 sitting statues at the Abu Simbel, with one damaged statue out of the 4 statues

The 4 sitting statues at Abu Simbel, set inside the setback in the rock at the entrance to the temple. These are very huge statues, looking very impressive; unfortunately one of the statues was damaged a long time back and never restored. The sight of these huge statues must have been very impressive for people who were passing by on the river Nile, and saw these huge statues at the entrance to the temple.

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Tourists sitting on rows of stone seats near the Abu Simbel temple in south Egypt

The entire complex of Abu Simbel is not very big, given that this is a isolated location, distant from any other place. There are infrastructure elements, such as an airport, landing location for ships on Lake Nasser, and parking for vehicles. And then there are the actual 2 hillocks, which contain the 2 temples. Near to these temples, there are some security locations, as well as this row of stone seats, meant for tourists. I was wondering whether there is a sound and light show, but could not see any information regarding the same.

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Tourists in front of the smaller temple in Abu Simbel, located in south Egypt

Tourists in front of the smaller temple, part of the twin temple complex of the Abu Simbel complex in south Egypt, in the province of Nubia. The smaller temple is known as the temple of Hathor and Nefertari, created to show the power of the royal consort, and how she was seemingly also equal to the power of the pharaoh. Tourists first visit the temple dedicated to the pharaoh, and then visit the smaller temple; and in some cases, I found some tourists who were not very interested in going inside.

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Statue of the pharaoh and the queen consort at the small temple in Abu Simbel

In previous photos, I have mentioned about the remarkable smaller temple of Abu Simbel, where the larger temple is dedicated for the pharaoh Ramesses II, while the smaller temple is actually dedicated to Hathor and Nefertari, where Hathor is the goddess and Nefertari was the queen. However, it is remarkable to have such a situation where the statue of the pharaoh, as seen in the picture, is the same size as that of the queen; typically the statue of the queen would be depicted as reaching the knee level of the statue of the pharaoh.

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Block of characters near the top of the statues at the smaler temple in Abu Simbel

A view of the characters in a block at a height where the head of the statues can be seen. This is at the smaller temple in Abu Simbel, known as the temple of Hathor and Nefertari. The structure is actually a remarkable monument, since this a temple dedicated to the queen consort, which was remarkable. In addition, the statues of the pharaoh and the queen at this temple were built of the same height, which was very different from other statues where the queen would come to the knee level of the pharaoh.

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Sculptures on the external walls of the Abu Simbel temple in Egypt

These are hieroglyphs on the outside walls of the Abu Simbel temple in south Egypt. Now, since I have no knowledge of how to read such stuff, I can only show a photo of it, but not understand what this particular depiction was trying to convey.

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Tourists at the entrance to the smaller temple, dedicated to the queen, at the temple of Abu Simbel

The entrance to the temple of Hathor and Nefertari, the smaller temple of the twin temples at Abu Simbel, is flanked by 6 statues, where 4 of the statues are that of the pharaoh Ramesses II, and the other 2 are that of the queen Nefertari (and in a departure from established customs, at this temple, the statue of the queen was of the same height as that of the pharaoh). There are a number of tourists at the entrance, and they would take most of their photos outside, since photography is not allowed inside the temple. For a number of tourists, who would have also gone through the temple dedicated to the pharaoh, the second temple may seem like the same and many did not even enter the second temple.

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Statue of the pharaoh next to the entrance of the temple to Nefertari at Abu Simbel in Egypt

The temple of Abu Simbel are actually twin temples, dedicated to the pharaoh Ramesses II and his wife / consort Nefertari. This one is actually the smaller temple, dedicated to the consort Nefertari. In the photo, you can see the statue of the pharaoh, and next to this statue, you will be able to see a statue of the queen Nefertari. What is astounding is that the statue of the pharaoh and the queen at the entrance to the temple are of the same size, which is not normal. In typical Egyptian photos, the queen would normally be seen rising to the knees of the pharaoh, and not more than that (also because the pharaoh is believed to be divine).

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Side view of the hillock of Abu Simbel, including a view of the statues at the entrance

A side view of the main temple dedicated to the pharaoh Ramesses II at Abu Simbel (there are actually 2 temples, with one dedicated to the pharaoh, and the other to his main queen Nefertari). This photo showcases the hillock where the temple located to the pharaoh is located. It is a fairly large hillock, with the statues of the sitting pharaoh at the entrance being huge. Given the arid overall region, most photos of the location showcase against a beautiful blue sky, although with a few clouds. There are also seen a couple of doors, which would indicate locations where the entrances to the hillock are visible.

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Hillock seen on the way to the temple of Abu Simbel in south Egypt

If you go by road from Aswan to Abu Simbel (which is a distance by road of around 280 km, and takes a bit less than 3 hours - there is almost no traffic on the road other than tourist traffic), then it is mostly a barren landscape. However, once in a while, there are some hillocks that can be seen on the way, such as in this photo. Of course, because of security reasons, the tour operators will not deviate from the path, and are even uncomfortable stopping on the route (they have been told not to make any stop on the route, and only travel at specific times from Aswan).

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The hillock where the temple dedicated to the queen (part of the temple of Abu Simbel) is located

The temple at Abu Simbel actually consists of 2 temples, hence are known as twin temples, with one temple dedicated to the pharaoh Ramesses II and the other to his queen Nefertari. This photo is the side of the hillock where the smaller temple is locate (with the temple also being known as the temple of Hathor and Nefertari, being dedicated to the goddess Hathor and the royal queen consort Nefertari). In this photo, you can see tourists in front of the temple, and the entrance to the temple with the statues on the front of the temple. These statues do not look as big as the statues in front of the temple dedicated to the pharaoh, but are still big.

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Side view of the large statues of the temple of Abu Simbels in south Egypt

A side view of the large statues outside the entrance of the temple of Abu Simbel. This is the view you will see as you turn the corner around the hillock in which the temple dedicated to the pharaoh Ramesses II is located. These statues seem merged with the stone of the hillock, but it is very different. After all, the temple was moved from a lower position (when the temple was supposed to be submerged due to the rising waters of Lake Nasser, caused due to the construction of the High dam at Aswan) and hence the current position was after it was moved.

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Tourists in front of the temple of the royal queen, Nefertari, at Abu Simbel in south egypt

Most visitors who have not been to the temple of Abu Simbel (located in the southern part of Egypt, about 280 km by road from the city of Aswan) know that this was a temple built by the great Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II, as a monument to his power. However, it is typically only those who have traveled there who know that the temple actually has 2 parts, one honoring the pharaoh, and the other honoring his chief consort, the Royal Queen Nefertari. She had her own temple, and this was actually very remarkable since queens were not expected to have such a prominent position in terms of public displays. Her temple is known as the small temple, officially called the temple of Hathor and Nefertari.

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Blue water of Lake Nasser, as seen from the edge of the Abu Simbel compound

Abu Simbel has a very strong connection with the waters of the river Nile. It was originally located at a point that was set lower than the current position of the temple, and was only moved to a higher position because the rising water level (due to the construction of the dam at Aswan, along with the creation of a reservoir, Lake Nasser) would mean that the temple would have got submerged. Even now, you can see that the water next to the temple is fairly wide, and pretty deep. However, it looks beautiful; if you see it from the air, there would be these 4 huge sitting statues located right next to an expanse of blue water.

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Tourists outside the smaller temple of the Abu Simbel temple complex in south Egypt

The temple at Abu Simbel now has 2 structures - one is the temple by the great pharaoh Ramesses II (often depicted as the greatest pharaoh in Egyptian history and also more controversially, supposed to be the pharaoh at the time of the exodus led by Moses), and the other is the temple dedicated to the Royal Queen Nefertari. This photo shows 2 tourists outside the temple in focus, and some tourists in the background. In the background, you can see more tourists. One problem with the site of course is that once you have seen these 2 temples inside out, there is nothing else to do there, and these tourists seem to have completed their trip to the temple. You can see some parts of the temple in the shape of those large characters in the structure in the back.

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