Egypt, Ever a Wonder! (Part 7): A-Bunch of Temples at Abu Simbel

- April 4, 2026, Saturday.

- Abu Simbel is one of the final frontiers of southern Egypt as it is close to the country's border with Sudan. Abu Simbel is actually still part of the Aswan governorate, which starts from right below Luxor until the border, but it really is so far from most other major tourist sites. Since my dad and I were staying in Luxor, the only thing most Egyptians told us after telling them of our day trip to Abu Simbel from Luxor was "good luck." It was a 6- to 7-hour drive from Luxor, better if from Aswan (around 3 hours). If I only planned our journey trip, I might actually have considered Aswan as a "homebase" in the south rather than Luxor as it appears to be in the middle of everything. Anyway, the only thing we had to do was to start our day at 4:30AM, and with a good driver (which we thankfully had), we reached Abu Simbel in no time. (There was a stopover too for toilet and snacks, but at some point my dad and I really had to pee, so we both were told to pee in the desert - a first experience for us, I guess.)

- Upon arrival at the Abu Simbel temples and meeting our guide, we took no time and immediately went around them. The original temples were built in 13th century BCE. However, due to the construction of the Aswan Dam in the 1960s, the temples had to be relocated to higher ground (similar case to Philae Temple, which we visited the day prior, as well as many other temples in the region). The relocation had to be done with mathematical precision because factors such as when and how the sunlight would illuminate the temple interior had to be considered. Apart from this, an artificial hill had to be created from the same stones and soil from the original location to recreate the look of the original temples.

- The bigger of the two temples was built by and dedicated to Ramesses II. It has four gigantic statues of him at the gate. His family members can be seen standing by his lower legs. Inside the temple's main hall are four statues: Ptah (god of the dead), Amun-Ra (king of gods), Ramesses II (at par with the gods), and Ra-Horakhty (fusion of Ra and Horus).

Spot the not.

The temple was cut up into hundreds of blocks during relocation.

Closer up of Ramesses II's statues.

Inside, see the Osiride Ramesses II statues.

Ramesses II on a chariot.

Left to right: Ptah, Amun-Ra, Ramesses II, and Ra-Horakhty. 

Another spot where one can take photos as one of the Ramesses II statues.

- The smaller temple at the other side of the mountain was dedicated to Hathor, the cow-headed fertility goddess, and Ramesses II's consoert, Nefertari. Unusually, Nefertari's statues at the temple's gate are the same size as Ramesses II's statues; pharaohs often had the largest statues with everyone else's being smaller (as in the bigger temple). The design of the whole temple was meant to be a simpler version of the bigger temple.

At the smaller temple. Notice how Ramesses II and Nefertari are standing alternately.

Pillars bearing images of Hathor (she looks like a human here, but with cow ears.)

From the sanctuary.

Inside the sanctuary.

Ramesses II giving offerings to Ra-Horakhty.

With a view of both temples.

First time seeing a wild falcon. At least, I was tlod it was a falcon.

-These two temples were the only ones we saw the whole day; we went back to Luxor after lunch. While ideally we'd spend some more time in Abu Simbel, these two temples were the main things to see. Other people opt to fly in and out within the day, but the flights from Abu Simbel only go to/from Cairo and Aswan, not Luxor (and I think they should consider flights to/from Luxor too, if possible.) Well, I used the rest of the time in the car to rest and edit photos; we arrived in Luxor just in time for dinner - around 2 hours ahead of our scheduled arrival! 

- I initially had hesitations about going to Abu Simbel because of its distance from Luxor (or anywhere else, really). However, seeing it personally and knowing about its story of relocation made me realize that I was right in trusting my gut to not let these two temples pass. They are remarkable works of ancient Egypt and I am also happy that they were able to restore them as accurately as possible after relocation! 

Egypt, Ever a Wonder! (Part 6): Aswan - Where Gods and Civilizations Come "As One"

- April 3, 2026, Friday.

- Egypt does not seem to run out of important temples to visit. This Friday in particular was dedicated to visiting some of these temples in Aswan. Aswan, which is a two- to three-hour drive south of Luxor, makes the perfect day trip for one who wants to see Egypt beyond ancient Thebes (the old name of Luxor).

- The first temple we visited was Edfu Temple, around an hour and a half from Luxor. Built in the 3rd century BCE, this temple was the largest one dedicated to the falcon-headed god Horus. Horus was the god of the sky and healing, among other functions. It is also one of the most best preserved ancient temples in the Egypt.

Temple entrance.

Inner courtyard.

Reverse of the gate. Look closely at the carvings - they're huge!

Pillars.

Inside the procession hall.

At the sanctuary.

I really wanted to touch the walls but I was told it was best if I didn't, so it took so much self control to pretend touching the walls, with barely a few centimeters to spare haha. (So in short, I am not touching the walls, it just looks like I am.)

There were so many bats!

Inside one of the halls.

Papyrus pillars.

- From Edfu we made our way further south to the Kom Ombo Temple. They started building the temple in the 2nd century BCE with additions in the years the followed. This temple is unique since it was dedicated to two gods: Horus and Sobek. I already mentioned Horus above; Sobek is the crocodile-headed god and is the god of fertility and protection (he is one of the many, many gods connected to fertility.) This temple is also a perfect example of Greco-Roman architecture.

The temple has two main entrances; other temples just have one.

Rows of pillars once more.

Sobek.

Horus.

- There are a couple of reasons why this temple was dedicated to two gods. First, the mythological reason explains that Horus and Sobek are opposing gods, and creating a temple dedicated to them both will please both gods. The other reason, which is more socio-political, is that many pharaohs are connected to worshipping Horus, while many locals worship Sobek.   

Walking through corridors.

I can just imagine how flashy this whole temple looked back in the day. Just look at the colorful details!

Sobek and Horus (leftmost is Khonsu I think.)

Columns with both Horus and Sobek.

Sideview.

It does partly remind me of ancient structures in Greece and Rome.


You'll notice that this slab has both Horus and Sobek once more.

- A couple of minutes away from Kom Ombo Temple is the Crocodile Museum. At first I thought it was just a museum about crocodiles as animals (biodiversity and all), but boy was I wrong! Although small in size, this museum was not only about the crocodiles that live in the Nile waters, but the museum also had a collection of crocodile mummies found inside Kom Ombo Temple. I think this was the first time I saw mummified crocodile in my life. These mummies range from baby crocodiles to adult ones.

Museum entrance.

Plenty of crocodiles.

Closer.

Croc mummies.

- Our last stop for the day was Philae Temple, in the heart of Aswan City. It was built in the 7th century BCE, in honor of the goddess Isis, the goddess of fertility and magic. Going to the temple itself was an adventures: the temple is located on an island, so boats need to be hired to go to and from the temple. The whole temple was also moved to Agilkia Island from Philae Island in the 1970s due to constant flooding of the original location, and changes in water levels after the Aswan Dam was built. The monumental effort to move the whole temple to another location (and a higher one), was carried out to preserve the temple. As another example of Egypt's Greco-Roman Period, the temple not only has influences from these cultures, but it also bears remnants of it being used as churches and chapels.

Choose one.

At the temple.

Isis, Horus, and Osiris.

A Roman-era cross, carved when the temple was used as a church.

Ancient graffiti.

You see both Egyptian gods and a Roman cross carved on top of them.

Isis sanctuary.

More carvings of Isis.

Hadrian'S Gate. Constructed during Emperor Hadrian's reign in 2nd century CE, it was where the entry/exit point for rituals related to Isis.

Photo at the entrance.

Trajan's Kiosk.

The kiosk was possibly built during King Trajan's rule in the 2nd century CE, but also possibly earlier.

Again, it was one of those buildings that felt both Roman and Egyptian.

Back to the mainland, from Philae Temple.

- To celebrate a wonderful tour, we had a local Egyptian lunch in Aswan before riding the car back to our hotel in Luxor. At some point, the temples of Egypt may look the same, but their magnificence never tires me. To think, these were just three of the many temples in Aswan. Now I understand why some people decide to go directly to Aswan and spend more time there, rather than Luxor. Anyway, I still learned so much just by visiting these three Greco-Roman Egyptian temple - what more had I stayed longer!