The First Aid center at the pier of Sharm el-Sheikh in the Sinai peninsula of Egypt

The pier at Sharm El-Sheikh is a fairly busy place. Given the tourist attractiveness of the place as a center for sun, snorkeling and scuba diving, there are a large number of tourists who visit there. Further, given that there is a certain time period in the day when most tourists go to the pier for their snorkeling and scuba diving, there can be a lot of crowd. Also, there is the potential for people to suffer small injuries or other problems such as a scratch due to the coral (trust me, in a couple of areas, they almost reach the water surface and can be pretty sharp), others can suffer breathing problems if they are doing snorkeling for the first time, and in odd cases, there can be attacks by some fish (for example, a couple of years back, there was an attack by some sharks on tourists in the water).

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Couple of ships that carry tourists to the snorkeling or scuba diving areas at Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt

Sharm el-Sehikh is a small town located near the southern region of the Sinai peninsula. The place was located at a strategic place, and became a base for the Egyptian navy in the 1950's. It was then captured by the Israeli army twice over the wars that happened in the region and was finally returned to Egypt as a part of the return of the Sinai in 1982. It was developed as a tourist attraction over the decades, with the Israelis and then the Egyptians both continuing this effort. Now, Sharm el-Sheikh is a place that attracts a large number of tourists from all over who come here to enjoy the snorkeling and scuba diving in the Red Sea, especially with the coral formations that are present in the region and which now enjoy a protected status in order to ensure that the fragile environment of the corals is not threatened. At the same time, there are a large number of ships that take tourists over there, either for scuba diving or for snorkeling.

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The pier at the Sharm el-Sheikh where people are boarding a ship bound for snorkeling

The city of Sharm el-Sheikh sits at the southern portion of the Sinai Peninsula, one of the Egyptian cities that are located on the shore of the Red Sea. The prime aim of tourists coming here (and a number of tourists charters come here from Europe) is to get the sun, and to enjoy the fun provided by snorkeling and scuba diving in the waters of the Red Sea. It can get pretty crowded during the tourist seasons (and keep in mind that this photo was taken during the month of February) as you can see in this photo. At the pier, there are a number of small boats tied up, all meant to take tourists for a course of snorkeling or scuba diving (the location where scuba diving is done and snorkeling is done are different, so these are typically different ships used for the same purpose). The ship that can be seen in this photo is meant for the snorkeling cruise, and a number of people are lined up for the trip. The course we went for took us to 3 sites for snorkeling, with some amazing coral reefs for us to admire.

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On a boat at the pier of the Sharm el-Sheikh in the Sinai peninsula in Egypt

A number of people who come to Egypt come there driven by the ancient attractions in Egypt - attractions such the Pyramids, the Great Sphinx, the Valley of the Kings, or Abu Simbel. All of these are incredible structures by itself, but when I was traveling with a group, I could see that after visiting some of these structures, they got bored of seeing one historical monument after another. Well, Egypt has one great place to visit that is more of a fun place (not to say that these incredible structures are not fun to visit); it is more of a place to enjoy adventure water sports such as snorkeling and scuba diving. At the southern tip of the Sinai peninsula, there is a place known as Sharm el-Sheikh. It has a number of beaches, and also has some extensive coral formations in the waters nearby, in protected areas. Visitors are allowed to do snorkeling and scuba diving in these regions, you need to make an arrangement to take a boat from the pier which will take you to these coral locations. Since the coral location is protected, visitors are prohibited from picking up any coral from the sea (even if the coral has broken off from the main formation) and the tourist guides going along with us enforced this rule.

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People at the pier at the Sharm el-Sheikh resort in the Sinai in Egypt

Sharm el-Sheikh is a very famous tourist resort in the Sinai area of Egypt, a tourist destination different from the other historical places that highlight the structures (or temples) of ancient Egypt. Sharm el-Sheikh is located on the southern tip of the Sinai peninsula, along the Red Sea (and it is the Red Sea that provides much of the attraction of the area). From time to time, there are a number of international conferences that have taken place here geared towards some sort of peace settlement or the other (for example, there was a lessening of tension between the Indian and Pakistani Governments at a conference held here a few years back). Sharl e-Sheikh is located at a strategic position with respect to the Gulf of Aqaba, and hence it became a major naval base for the Egyptian navy. During the 1956 war, the Israeli army captured it, and it was returned in 1957. Again, in the 1967 war, it was recaptured and then returned back to Egypt as part of the 1979 peace settlement. Now, there are strict environmental laws in place in the city and in the waters around, aimed to increase its attraction as tourist potential, and the coral reefs and others nearby ensure that a number of people come here for the sun, and for snorkeling and scuba diving. The photo shows people heading towards the boats and ship that take them for diving and for snorkeling.

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Vast open areas with some small hills and a lot of clouds overhead on the way from Abu Simbel to Aswan

As in some previous photos, you get a view of the terrain on the way from Aswan to Abu Simbel. The terrain is a dry, almost desert kind of view, as you could see in this photo. The distance from Aswan to Abu Simbel is around 260km with most of this route being of a deserted and dry condition. One would not think that this would be true about being a dry place, given the presence of the massive River Nile through this area, but the Nile has been famous in the past as well for fostering greenery on a narrow patch next to the river, but otherwise the most common terrain type is that of a dry place. The photo shows a large plain with a few hills in the distance, and no greenery in the place, just a vast flat area that seems like a desert. However, if you consider that the place is like a desert, the clouds that cover more than half of the sky seem to depict it to be other than a desert and a dry place.

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Shimmer of light as the sunset happens over the horizon on the trip from Abu Simbel to Aswan in Egypt

The journey from Aswan to Abu Simbel can take a fair amount of time, around 3 hours each way. Abu Simbel is a beautiful location, but it is some distance away from Aswan (taking a 3 hour journey on a highway with little traffic; or by flight - but that takes time since you need to check in to Aswan, do the procedures for security, and then disembark at the Abu Simbel airport and then make your way to the temple from the airport; or you can take a cruise from Aswan to Abu Simbel, but that can take even more time). This was on the return journey from Abu Simbel to Aswan. Given the total journey time taken around 6 hours, and if you spend some time at the temple and have left in the morning from Aswan, then on the return journey, you will be close to sunset, and that is why we got these sights of the sunset over the horizon and the shimmer happens.

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Desert like road condition on the route between Aswan and the temple of Abu Simbel in south Egypt

Desert like road condition on the trip between Aswan and Abu Simbel. This part of Egypt, the southern half, is somewhat dry and barren. The River Nile does run through this region, but the river only provides a wet condition for a small stretch of land on either side of the river, but the rest of the place would remain barren. When we traveled between Aswan and Abu Simbel, a view of the journey (a distance of about 3 hours, 260 km) showed land similar to what was in the photo. In the photo, it seems like a desert but not too much sand, more like a barren area with some scrub types of plants (at the minimum, you can see that there is not at all any kind of greenery in the place). Driving through such an area can be extremely boring, although you are able to maintain a high speed because of very little traffic and no distractions of any kind.

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Telecom transmission towers, with a backdrop of thick clouds, on the way to Abu Simbel in Egypt

A view of telecom transmission towers while we were on our way to the heritage location of Abu Simbel, located in south Egypt (moving from the larger town of Aswan). Abu Simbel is located at a distance of around 260 km from Aswan, and one can get there through the use of road, through ship over Lake Nasser, or through a plane. Most people take the road route, it being convenient and overall taking the least time. However, because of security concerns, visitors are not allowed to drive over there, and are expected to be taken there in convoys driven by tourist companies twice a day. The route is fairly isolated, and most of the time, what we normally see along with the road are the electric lines that go alongside the route, and these telecom transmissions towers from time to time. Because of these towers, there is telecom connectivity even in this remote area.

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Cloud cover over the temples of Abu Simbel in south Egypt

The area where the temple of Abu Simbel looks a bit barren. There is the River Nile flowing through the area, but as soon as you move a bit away from the river, you will come across mostly barren land and blue skies. So it was a bit surprising when I saw this cloud cover all over the area, and there is even a hint of dark cloud near the front of the photo, that could indicate a possibility of rain. However, in the couple of hours that we were there, we did not see any rain at the site and everything remained barren except for the greenery that was planted at the site. I spoke to a couple of people over there and they also claimed that there was very little rainfall at this site, even though there was a river flowing there and there was also the presence of Lake Nasser.

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Palm trees near the entrance to the temple of Abu Simbel in south Egypt

A set of 3 palm trees located near the entrance to the Abu Simbel temple in south Egypt. The location of the Abu Simbel temple is so remote without anything nearby that after a journey of 3 hours on a deserted highway, when you actually get near the temple, everything seems good. These are trees near the parking lot and near the entrance to the temple, where you can see the upper levels of the stalls that have been set over there; and being able to see trees and greenery after this long road trip seems a great view. There are 3 ways to get to Abu Simbel, through the road trip, or through a flight from Aswan, or through a river (lake) cruise from Aswan on a nice and comfortable cruise ship. The road trip works out the fastest, since there is none of the time related to boarding or getting off a flight, and it takes a bit less than 3 hours point to point (there is no stopping of the convoy in between).

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The sheer size of the hill housing the temple of Abu Simbel in south Egypt

The large size of the hill housing the temple of Abu Simbel in south Egypt. There are actually twin hills, housing two temples (one honoring the pharaoh and the other honoring the chief consort of the pharaoh). These hills are all man made and are not the original location of the temple (as constructed by the pharaoh). The original temple was made around 45 centuries back, and was located much lower down, closer to the river. However, after so many centuries, the creation of a dam was planned on the river Nile at Aswan, a dam which would be very massive and meant to provide a large amount of electricity as well as control the annual flooding of the Nile (which was useful in earlier times since that provided fertile soil, but was now very disruptive). The dam caused water levels to rise, and to save the temple from being flooded, the entire temple was cut into small blocks and moved to a much higher level (the current location).

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Entrance to the back side of the hill housing the temple of Abu Simbel in Egypt

A number of visitors to Egypt who have come to see the wonders from Ancient Egypt also make it to see the temple of Abu Simbel. Even though the temple is not as famous as the Pyramids or the Sphinx, the temple is still relatively famous. Getting there is not as simple as visiting the pyramids though (which are located on the outskirts of Cairo). The Temple of Abu Simbel is located in an isolated area, 260 km by road from the nearest big town of Aswan (you can also get there by flight or by ship across Lake Nasser). It is Lake Nasser which made it famous. Lake Nasser is a man made lake which was created due to the construction of the dam at Aswan, and as a result, the rise in water levels threatened the temple; in an engineering feat, the temple was moved up from the lower level and moved to the current location. The hill housing the temple was created to house the temple, and in this photo, you can see the backside of the hill with a entrance meant for service purposes.

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Tourists standing at the foot of the huge statues at the Abu Simbel temple in Egypt

The temple of Abu Simbel is an incredible monument, a heritage. It was constructed by the great Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II around 45 centuries back and was constructed in the form of a twin temple - one temple dedicated to the honor of the pharaoh, and the other to the chief consort of the pharaoh (which was incredible by itself, since the wife of the pharaoh was never given such an honor before). The other significant detail about the temple is that it was moved from its original position in the 1960's. The construction of the Dam at Aswan was creating a large reservoir, and the rising water of the reservoir threatened the temple, and hence the engineering effort was needed to cut the temple into blocks that were then re-assembled at a higher level with a high degree or accuracy.

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View from the side of the 4 large statues at the entrance to the Abu Simbel temple

A view of the four large statues at the entrance to the temple at Abu Simbel. There are actually twin temples, out of which you are seeing one. The primary one is dedicated to the great pharaoh Ramesses II (who built the temple approx 45 centuries back), with another one being dedicated to his chief consort (and it was very astonishing that a temple was being dedicated to his wife, since such a thing was not heard of before). The temple has these 4 huge statues at the entrance, and you can get an idea of the size of these statues from the entrance located in the lower middle, which is much below the overall height of the statues. These are truly remarkable structures, made more so from the fact that these were not the original location of the temple, it being moved up from a lower level to escape the rising waters of the river Nile due to dam being constructed at Aswan.

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Two of the large statues at the entrance of the Abu Simbel temple in South Egypt

The temple at Abu Simbel in the southern part of Egypt is actually a twin temple, with a temple dedicated to the pharaoh and the smaller one to his wife. This is the entrance to the larger temple, which has 4 huge statues at the entrance. In this photo, you can see 2 of the huge statues along with the upper portion of the entrance to the temple (located in the lower left portion of the photo). The temple at Abu Simbel is very famous for being one of the works undertaken by the great pharaoh Ramesses II, on the river Nile, apparently in the middle of nowhere. The temple was located at a lower level where it was under threat of being submerged by the rising water caused due to the construction of the High Dam at Aswan, and in an engineering feat in the 1960's, was moved to a higher level (the current position of the temple).

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The statues in front of one of the hills of the Abu Simbel temple in South Egypt

The temple of Abu Simbel is located in the southern portion of Egypt, not far from the border with Sudan. The temple was constructed by the great pharaoh Ramesses II and was meant as a display of his grandeur and also as a reminder of the power of Egypt to the visitors from the south who would be traveling on the river Nile (and the temple was located on the banks of the river). The temple is actually twin temples, both of them with large statues in front. This is the view of the larger one, the one dedicated to the pharaoh. These are huge statues, towering over the visitors who cannot be seen in this photo (you can get an idea of the size when you look at the entrance in the middle of the photo, and the statues towering over the entrance to the monument). Over a period of time, one of the statues has been lost above the waist, but if you consider that the temple and statues have been existing for around 45 centuries, you cannot help but feeling impressed.

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Hillock while on the way from Aswan to Abu Simbel in Egypt with a strong cloud cover

I really liked this photo, primarily because of the cloud cover shown in the photo. The route from Aswan to Abu Simbel is mostly a flat route, although there are a number of hillocks that appear from side to side in the distance. Some of these hillocks are close enough that photos of these came out in some detail, even though these were taken from a moving vehicle (when you are traveling from Aswan to Abu Simbel in a convoy, the drivers were very reluctant to stop unless necessary because of instructions they have been given by the police, and tourists are not allowed to drive on their own to Abu Simbel). The cloud cover I saw at this place was different from the cloud cover for most of the journey, with a large number of clouds at this specific location. For most of the journey, there were wires along the side of the road, since the electric line ran along the whole length of the road.

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Slightly loose structure of the back portion of the Abu Simbel temple in south Egypt

When visitors reach the temple of Abu Simbel in south Egypt, they see 2 small hills that contain the twin temples of Abu Simbel - the temple dedicated to the pharaoh and the other dedicated to his chief queen. However, a number of visitors do not know that these hills or hillocks are actually not the original structures in which the temple was housed. In the the 1950's and 1960's, the construction of the High Dam at Aswan threatened the Abu Simbel temple, with the rising water level due to the creation of Lake Nasser going to submerge the temple. In a restoration effort, the entire temple was cut into blocks which were re-assembled with a high level of accuracy at a higher level, safe from the water, and that is what visitors to the temple now see. So, in this photo you are seeing the back of the hill, the combination of an ancient marvel and a modern restoration effort that together make this whole place special.

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Oddly colored hillocks on the way from Aswan to Abu Simbel in south Egypt

The route from Aswan to Abu Simbel is a long route, around 260km. It takes around 3 hours to get there, with the road being a road with very little traffic and almost no sort of township enroute. It is just a question of driving on a straight line (but that does not mean that anybody can drive there, traffic over there is only allowed through security cleared tourist vehicles and in twice daily convoys). On the way, what you normally see is a mixture of flat ground, and hillocks. This is a view of some of the small hills that you see on the way, in this case, the color seemed somewhat strange.

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Back view of the hillock of the Abu Simbel temple in South Egypt

When visitors go to see the tourist attraction of Abu Simbel located in the southern portion of Egypt, most of them do not even realize that what they are seeing is not strictly the original. The statues and contents of the sanctum are original, but the location and the hillock housing the temple are not original, but were actually created only in the 1960's. Due to the construction of the high dam at Aswan with the consequent creation of the reservoir called Lake Nasser, the rising water threatened the original location of the Abu Simbel temple. There was a huge engineering effort to create a small dam around the temple to prevent water from entry, and then the entire temple was cut into small blocks and then taken to a higher location and re-created in exactly the same manner (the difference being that the original temple was on the side face of the rock, while the new temple is located in a hillock).

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Light of sunset over the horizon as seen from the Abu Simbel road in Egypt

The road from Aswan to Abu Simbel is a fairly wide road given the amount of traffic that is there on the road (very low traffic on the road except for the convoys of buses and other vehicles heading for the temple, along with security vehicles). The first convoy leaves early in the morning with the second convoy later in the morning (and when I say early in the morning, it meant that they would expect you to get up at 4:30 in the morning or so so that you are on time). This was a photo taken on the way back from Abu Simbel to Aswan, on the highway. There was a great sunset over the horizon and I really liked the way that the light seemed to spread over a section of the horizon, and with the clouds acting orange / red, it looked beautiful. Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to take too many photos since the driver of the vehicle was very reluctant to stop (apparently he had been warned by the police that no vehicles are expected to stop on the road, go non-stop from Aswan to Abu Simbel and then back).

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Backside of the hillock holding the temple of Abu Simbel in south Egypt

The current structure of the temple at Abu Simbel is a mix of old and new. The temple was originally built during the time of the Great Pharaoh Ramesses II, and served as a reminder to the people in the area and visitors from Nubia making their way on the Nile to Egypt about the greatness of the pharaoh for having constructed such a huge structure. However, the plans for the construction of the High Dam at Aswan envisaged the creation of a huge fresh water reservoir which would contain the dammed up water of the River Nile, leading to the creation of Lake Nasser. The high waters of the lake were going to submerge the temple, and hence it was moved to a higher level but with exactly the same configuration (including the light effect where twice a year light from the sun would reach inside the inner sanctum of the temple and light up some of the gods but not the god of the underworld).

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Small hillocks in the distance while traveling from Aswan to Abu Simbel in Egypt

The distance from Aswan to Abu Simbel is of approximately 260 km by road, and a fairly non-crowded road it is. There are 3 main ways that tourists get from Aswan to Abu Simbel, these being through road, through a flight to the small airport at Abu Simbel, and through cruise ship on Lake Nasser from Aswan to Abu Simbel. The road from Aswan to Abu Simbel is a straight road without many disturbances (with very little traffic on the road); due to security constraints, vehicles are only allowed from Aswan twice a day in convoys (which can contain a large number of vehicles) with police protection. On the way, there are hillocks that can be visible in the distance, such as these hillocks in the photo. I liked this photo, where there is a combination of hillocks in the distance, clouds covering the sky and an overall feeling of emptiness.

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Hillock housing the statues of Abu Simbel along with greenery in a cloudy sky in Egypt

Photo depicting the hillock and the surroundings of the Abu Simbel temple in South Egypt. Out of the many monuments in Egypt dating to the time of the pharaohs, the more famous ones are the Pyramids and the Sphinx, but Abu Simbel is also one of the much visited ones. It is located in an isolated area, on the shores of the River Nile, at a distance of 260km from the nearest major civilization center, the city of Aswan (and would take around 3 hours to get there by road (in regulated convoys twice a day)). The hillock shown in the photo is an artificial hillock, constructed to move the temple when it was saved in an incredible engineering feat, moved from a lower level where it would have been submerged by the rising water levels of Lake Nasser.

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Hillock and view of Lake Nasser at the Abu Simbel temple in south Egypt

The temple of Abu Simbel in South Egypt is a very famous temple, famous because of the location and grandeur of the temple as well as the effort needed for the conservation of the temple. Due to the construction of the High Dam at Aswan with the creation of the large reservoir, the temple was going to be submerged under the rising waters of the River Nile. It took an incredible engineering effort in the 1960's to take the temple apart from its original location, block by block, and then place it at a new location inside artificial hillocks. The photo shows a view of the artificial hillock along with a view of the water of Lake Nasser and with some great cloud cover overhead.

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