Abu Simbel


Lotus

Statues de Ramses II



In order to reach Abu Simbel, we passed by the Aswan High Dam. Lake Nasser, behind it, is in fact huge. Numerous temples and other monuments of Egyptian antiquity were saved from being flooded by almost incredible international cooperation, often supported by the United Nations (UNESCO).


Lac Nasser Temple de Kalabsha sur le Lac Nasser
Lake Nasser, seen from the High Dam The temple of Kalabsha, transferred to higher land

We arrived by plane in Abu Simbel, close to the border with Sudan, in incredible heat (45°C+) and with a weird, end-of-the-world light. Very strange. The colors on these photos are not false.

These monuments are perhaps the most majestic we have seen. They are certainly the biggest.


Le temple de Ramses II à Abou Simbel Intérieur du temple de Ramses II
The temple of Ramses II at Abu Simbel Interior of Temple of Ramses II 
Le temple de Nefertari à Abou Simbel Le temple de Nefertari à Abou Simbel
The temple of Nefertari at Abu Simbel Tourist admiring the temple of Nefertari
Le Lac Nasser à Abou Simbel
Lake Nasser at Abu Simbel

There are colossal statues outside and inside the temples, as well as fascinating reliefs in an excellent state of conservation in the temples of Ramses II and his principal wife (He had about a hundred of them), Nefertari. These are temples – their tombs are in the  theban necropolis, across from Luxor.


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