[Grace] Abu Simbel Ruins in Egypt

Over the course of this trip, we have seen amazing things in all different parts of the world. In Cambodia we went to Angkor Wat, seen white sand beaches in Thailand, hiked to Everest Base Camp in Nepal and saw lions in South Africa. After South Africa, we flew to Egypt - and while it was not always the most pleasant country (it reached 115 degrees Fahrenheit), the ancient Egyptian ruins are so far beyond anything else.

After spending a few days in Cairo, our family was going to fly to a town on the Nile, Aswan, and get on a river cruise. Before that, we were going to fly down and back to a town near the Sudan border named Abu Simbel to see ruins with the same name as the town.

The day was blisteringly hot, and I was peeved that we had to take two extra flights just to see the Abu Simbel ruins. The schedule for the day looked like this:

Fly from Cairo to Aswan
Fly from Aswan to Abu Simbel

Sightsee at Abu Simbel
Fly from Abu Simbel to Aswan

Board boat

Basically, it would have been much simpler for us to skip Abu Simbel, and I was confused at why this site was so important. I am a big Egyptian history nerd and had never heard of Abu Simbel before, so I was skeptical. However,  I had done some quick research to learn the basics, and this is what I learned:

Abu Simbel was built by  the pharaoh Ramesses the II (commonly known as Ramesses the Great). At the location there are two temples, but they also serve as monuments to Ramesses and his wife, Nefertari. They were built around 1250 BC (for reference, the pyramids were built in 2500 BC).

All my uncertainty about the monuments disappeared instantly once we arrived. 

All four of those giant statues are of Rammesses. He positioned himself in the typical position of a God.

You can see how large the statues are with the perspective the people provide.

There are enormous reliefs of Ramesses carved into the red rockface. They are not in perfect condition but that does little to damper their effect. In the middle, there is an entrance into the temple. Inside, the temple walls are almost 100% covered with carvings, depicting Ramesses' victory in battle as well as tribute to the many gods. One of the most interesting things about the temple is the fact that some of the carvings still have remnants of paint.

The second temple at Abu Simbel is much smaller and dedicated to Ramesses' wife, Nefertari. The front of the temple is in a similar style to the first, if at a much smaller scale. Even though the temple is in Nefertari's honor, she is only depicted in 2/6 of the 6 large figures in front. Ramesses, who was quite the arrogant pharaoh, had 4 large statues of himself out in front too.

From left to right: Ramesses, Nefertari, Ramesses, Ramesses, Nefertari, Ramesses

The inside of the temple is, again, smaller but quite similar to the first temple.

Overall, Abu Simbel was incredible and totally worth it. The ruins were some of my favorite by far. Also, now I want to build my own version of Abu Simbel, except with giant statues of me instead of Ramesses. Stay tuned for how that goes.