The Ministry of Tourism recognizes
MIN TRAVEL under License No.
593 - category (A) - since 1986 as a
pioneer member of the Tourist
Chamber and the Egyptian Association
of Tour Operators in Egypt.
Have you ever wondered what life must have been like thousands of years ago? These thoughts of curiosity has inspired artists to take you there, for a brief period, through the creation of sound & light shows. You can get a glimpse back in time to see, feel, and imagine how it was when the powerful ancient Egyptians ruled. The artists have masterfully created a spectacle show that draws you in as part of history.
One of our drivers will pick you up at your hotel and transfer you to the Ramses Temple. You will enjoy a 2-hour sound & light show performance at the Temple. At the end of the trip our driver will be waiting to take you back to your hotel.
3. This Offer valid from 01.05.2006 till 30.09.2006.
Aside from the pyramids of Giza, the magnificent temple
at Abu Simbel is perhaps the most recognized symbol of ancient Egypt for
modern visitors.
How did the ancient Egyptians manage to carve these humongous statues and
temples out of the deep rock of the mountainside? Why did one pharaoh build
numerous monuments to himself, and why did he build many of them so far away
from his capitol?
The Sound and Light show at Abu Simbel will transport you
to the time of the pharaohs. Enchanting you with melodious music, and
bringing the ancient world to life around you, the show includes projections
onto the temples showing how they once looked. The program is presented in a
number of languages with the provision of ear pieces. It is an experience
not to be missed, one that will make your visit to Abu Simbel the memory of
a lifetime.
Abu Simbel is located 280 km from Aswan on the West bank
of the Nile in what was once called Nubia. The site was commissioned by
Ramses the Second, also known as Ramses the Great, during the 5th year of
his long reign, and it was not completed until his 35th year as pharaoh. It
is the largest and most beautiful of the many monuments Ramses the Great
erected throughout Egypt to proclaim his power. The massive façade, cut into
the mountainside, features four statues of Ramses himself, each 20 meters
high. Smaller statues of the royal family stand between the four largest
statues. These include Ramses' mother, his wife Nefertari, and their sons
and daughters.
Also outside near the statues is a 'Marriage Stela,' commemorating the
marriage between Ramses' daughter and the King of the Hittites. An
inscription over the entrance of the facade reads, 'Ramesses II, he has made
a temple, excavated in the mountain, of eternal workmanship, for the chief
queen Nefertari, beloved of Mu, in Nubia, forever and ever, Nefertari for
whose sake the very sun does shine.
Within the temple there are eight large statues depicting
Ramses as the god Osiris, supporting the hefty ceiling. After passing
through halls containing rooms for various rituals, visitors arrive at the
most famous part of Abu Simbel's inner temple: A sanctuary room with a small
altar and four statues of Ramses as different gods. The temple was designed
so precisely that two days each year, in October and February, the morning
sun beams its glorious rays directly into the temple and into the small
sanctuary room, illuminating the four statues. To the south of the main
temple is a smaller temple dedicated to Ramses' wife Nefertari and the
goddess Hathor.
With the announcement of the plan to build the High Dam at Aswan, Abu Simbel
was threatened to become an underwater sanctuary. Images of the gigantic
statues appeared on the front pages of newspapers around the globe. Nobody
wanted to see the statues sink beneath the rising Nile waters. The salvage
of Abu Simbel began in 1963 in a project between Egypt and UNESCO. At a cost
of nearly $36 million, the statues and temples were moved to a higher
plateau where they could welcome the rising sun each morning
Like other sites in Egypt, Abu Simbel survived in great
condition until modern times. When Greeks visited the site in the 6th
century BC, mounds of sand had grown so high that the knees of Ramses'
statues were covered.
When Victorian traveler Amelia Edward visited Abu Simbel in 1873, the site
was so captivating that it left her breathless: 'It was wonderful to wake
every morning close under the steep bank, and, without lifting one's head
from the pillow, to see that row of giant faces so close against the sky,'
she said. 'They showed unearthly enough by moonlight; but no half so
unearthly as in the grey of dawn. At that hour, the most solemn of the
twenty-four, they wore a fixed and fatal look that was little less than
appalling. As the sky warmed, this awful look was succeeded by a flush that
mounted and deepened like the rising flush of life. For a moment they seemed
to glow – to smile – to be transfigured. Then came a flash, as of thought
itself. It was the first instantaneous flash of the risen sun. It lasted
less than a second. It was gone almost before one could say that it was
there. The next moment, mountain, river, and sky, were distinct in the
steady light of day; and the colossi - mere colossi now - sat serene and
stony in the open sunshine. Every morning I waked in time to witness that
daily miracle.'
