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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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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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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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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Road going from Aswan to Abu Simbel - a desolate long highway

The road between the city of Aswan and the temple of Abu Simbel. The distance between these locations is around 280 km by road, and takes a time less than 3 hours by convoy. The road is not used by others except for some use by small hamlets located on the route, by military vehicles, and by the convoys traveling between Aswan and Abu Simbel. It is not particularly wide, but is maintained in very good condition with mostly flat surroundings, except for some hillocks in the distance.

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Palm trees located on the outskirts of the compound of the Abu Simbel temple in Egypt

The area in which the temple of Abu Simbel is located is a desolate and barren area even though the river Nile passes close by. However, at the actual temple, there is an attempt to beautify the area with trees planted close by the temple. At some points in the temple, there are many trees including these palm trees that provide some greenery to the whole area. They actually great.

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Sunlight glistening on the surface of the back side of the hillock at the Abu Simbel temple

The temple of Abu Simbel essentially consists of twin temples, each of them located within 2 hillocks. The original temple was located in the riverside, but due to the formation of Lake Nasser after the construction of the dam at Aswan, the temple was taken apart rock by rock and moved to a higher location to ensure that it did not submerged by the rising water. These hillocks are essentially man made structures, one of which can be seen in this photo.

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Narrow part of Lake Nasser near the Abu Simbel temple in South Egypt

The water body next to the Abu Simbel temple in South Egypt. The entire area was desolate, a mix of desert and hills. The temple had been constructed in a remote area, far away from cities, but on the route used by travelers from Nubia to Aswan. The temple was constructed as a expression of the grandeur of the pharaoh as well as a warning to the visitors about the power of the pharaoh and for them not to try any misadventure in the region.

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