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Abu Simbel - Great Temple of Ramesses II and the Temple of Nefertari dedicated to Hathor - Aswan - www.Travel-Ancient-Egypt.com

QEA - www.Travel-Ancient-Egypt.com - Aswan - Abu Simbel - Great Temple of Ramesses II and the Temple of Nefertari dedicated to Hathor - Abu Simbel One Day Adventure:

History:

Abu Simbel is a little more difficult to get to then some of the other temples in Egypt, although the myth and facts regarding the Temple itself are rewarding and worth reading up on whilst travelling to the great monuments of Aswan - the Temple of Ramesses II and the Temple of Nefertari, dedicated to Hathor.

Abu Simbel lies South of Aswan on the western bank of the Nile, 180 miles south of the First Cataract in what was Nubia. The site was known as Meha in ancient times and was first documented in the XVIII Dynasty, when Ay and Horemheb had rock-cut chapels hewn in the hills to the south.

Abu Simbel was a temple constructed by the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses II (”Ramesses The Great”, alternatively transcribed as Ramses and Rameses - the same powerful Pharaoh who built such structures as the Ramesseum and Luxor Temple). The Great Temple took approximately twenty years to build and was intended to represent Ramesses’ divinity and power. There are some areas of the Temple dedicated to Ramesses’ principle wife, Nefertari along with the Gods Amun-Re, Ptah, and Ra-Harakhte (alternatively Re-Harakhte) as well as dedication to the Goddess Hathor. The underlying purpose was to commemorate his victory at the Battle of Kadesh (also known as the Battle of Qadesh) and to intimidate his Nubian neighbours.

The huge temple, called Hwt Ramesses Meryamun, the “Temple of Ramesses, beloved of Amun,”, was originally carved right out of the Nubian mountain side during the 13th Century BC.

At the entrance of the temple there are four statues, each measuring 65 feet in height. It is believed that these statues became damaged in antiquity due to an earthquake, possibly, which resulted in the severed head and torso of one of the statues. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the “Nubian Monuments”

The Temples today are located nearly 600 feet away from where they originally stood. In the wake of the creation of the Aswan Dam, the realisation came to the Egyptian Government that if they went through with their plan it would result in the submerged temple of Abu Simbel, along with some neighbouring structures. Recognizing its magnificence, the Egyptian government devised a plan with the help of UNESCO to dismantle, relocate, and salvage the beautiful structure of Abu Simbel. They started by cutting the temple into smaller, moveable pieces, and locating them closer to the Sudanese border in an area above the water line of the New Aswan Dam (a project that nearly cost 40 million USD $). Next was the construction of a new artificial domed mountain to place the Temples over, as to resemble the previous structure exactly. This was not an easy task, but upon completion Abu Simbel still commands the attention of nearly every traveller who comes to see Egypt’s magnificent monuments.

Abu Simbel remains one of Egypt’s top tourist attractions.

Getting there:

From Luxor, QEA would pick you up, and transport you to the Airport to fly to Aswan. This trip can only be made via Air Travel from everywhere OTHER than Aswan. Upon arriving to Abu Simbel, you would have you personal tour guide, and Air-conditioned minibus waiting for you. There is at all times fresh fruit, and water aboard your transportation should you ever get hungry during the trip, or need refreshment.

You would begin by entering through the main entrance at Abu Simbel, dedicated to Ramesses II. From there, your guide would walk you through to give you a detailed explanation of the history behind the monuments, and their purpose.

From there you would venture over to Neferari’s Temple of Hathor, before being taken to a distance to see the magnificent view from afar.

After enjoying the monuments of Abu Simbel, you would enjoy a nice dinner compliments of QEA before being taken back to the airport.

Upon your arrival back to Luxor, you would have transportation waiting for you to bring you back to your hotel.

Payment:

*Please note, this trip can be made from Cairo or Alexandria for an additional cost, and made from Aswan for a LOWER cost.

This Trip Includes:

- Transportation to and from the Luxor Airport, via your personal air-conditioned minibus

-Your two-way flight ticket

-Lunch and refreshments through the day.

-Your own personal guide who will meet you at the airport, and accompany you the whole way to give you a thorough explanation of all the sites you will be enjoying.

-Drop off to the Airport, with transportation waiting for you to transport you back to your hotel.

-All site entrance fees

Price:

- £180 GBP per person (360 $ USD)

Payment accepted in £ (GBP), LE (Egyptian Pound), €(Euro), $ (Dollar)

- Children under 10 free (with the exception of the flight ticket)

(minimum 2 persons)- discount for groups of 4 or more may be available.

*Ask about our Single Supplement Package!

*For an additional cost, if you are in Cairo, QEA can arrange your flight to Abu Simbel. This would entail you flying to Abu Simbel the night before your day adventure and your flight back to Cairo after finishing your tour (or if you would prefer, book another night at your hotel, and fly you out the following morning). The additional cost would include your plane tickets to and from Luxor, your hotel room, and transport from/to the airport.

Please note, that we can make these same arrangements from Alexandria, Aswan, Luxor and Red Sea Resorts or anywhere in Egypt with an airport, courtesy of Egypt Air.

Price may vary.

For booking or enquiries, please contact QEA directly by e-mail:

Info@QuestForTheEgyptianAdventure.com

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Pictures of Abu Simbel’s Temples

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More about the Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses II:

He had a large number of children - 48-50 sons and 40-53 daughters,  whom he had depicted on several monuments.

He apparently made no distinctions between the offspring of his first two principal wives, Nefertari and Isetnofret. Both queen’s first-born sons and first few daughters had statues at the entrance of the Greater Abu Simbel temple, although only Nefertari’s children were depicted in the smaller temple, dedicated to her. Other than Nefertari and Isetnofret, Ramesses had six more great Royal wives during his reign - his own daughters Bintanath, Meritamen, Nebettawy and Henutmire (who, according to another theory was his sister), and two daughters of Hattusilis III, King of Hatti. Except Bintanath and the first Hittite princess Maathorneferure, none are known to have borne children to the pharaoh.

Many of Ramesses’ sons were buried in the vast tomb KV5 in the Valley of the Kings on the West Bank of Luxor.

A son of Ramesses, Merenptah (”Beloved of Ptah”), son of Isetnofret, crown prince after the 55th year, became Pharaoh in his own right after the death of Ramesses - Merenptah having a stunning tomb in the Valley of the Kings (KV8).

He ruled Egypt for almost ten years between late July or early August 1213 to May 2, 1203 BC, according to contemporary historical records.

Merneptah was already an elderly man in his late 60s if not early 70s when he assumed the throne. Merneptah moved the administrative center of Egypt from Piramesse (Pi-Ramesses), his father’s capital, back to Memphis, where he constructed a royal palace next to the temple of Ptah.

Merneptah suffered from arthritis and arteriosclerosis in old age and died of natural causes after a reign which lasted for nearly a decade. Merneptah was originally buried within tomb KV8 in the Valley of the Kings, but his mummy was not found there. In 1898 it was located along with eighteen other mummies in the mummy cache found in the tomb of Amenhotep II (KV35).

www.Travel-Ancient-Egypt.com - Edfu and Kom Ombo in Egypt - One Day Adventure with QEA

Edfu and Kom Ombo in Egypt - One Day Adventure with QEA - www.Travel-Ancient-Egypt.com

The History:

Edfu has a fascinating story surrounding the mythological battle between Horus and Seth. We know the temple

was believed to be started by Ptolemy III in 237 BC and finished 180 years later in 57 BC.

The inner walls of the temple were completed in 207 BC. During these periods there was much political unrest, much of which could be attributed to the control of Egypt by the Ptolemies. When the grand temple was finally dedicated it was done so to the Falcon

God, Horus. Completion of the temple itself came from Ptolemy XII Auletes, father of Cleopatra, the last Egyptian to rule Egypt. Upon entering the Temple you see two statues of Horus, the Falcon God, atop the gate, you will notice as well the two towers of the great entrance pylon of the temple which were meant to perfectly mirror each other.

From the entrance you reach the Peristyle court, to then enter the Library, following the Hypostyle Hall, another Hypostyle hall, the transverse hall, the Sanctuary and then to the right the well.

The story surrounding the awesome battle of Seth and Horus lies in the age-old problems of arrogance and greed. Seth, the evil God declared he was the true ruler of Egypt although it was known that Horus was the guardian.

Horus then proceeded to destroy Seth using harpoons through different organs and parts of the body. In this story

Seth is displayed as a Hippopotamus. Seth was also the villain to cut Osiris into pieces, who would later be resurrected by his sister Isis. There is nowhere inside this well-preserved temple that you will not find images of Horus.

The Edfu Temple is not only arguably the best preserved temple in Egypt, but also the only known completed Temple.

Experience the Ancient city of Sobek, the Crocodile God, at Kom Ombo whilst also seeing the other section dedicated to Horus the Elder. On the eastern side of this grand temple you will find a chapel to Hathor, while on the West side you will find a deep well dedicated to Sobek. The chapel was started by Ptolemy VI - that we know of - while the main additions, and ultimate finishing of the temple were made by Ptolemy XII Auletes. Kom Ombo was also used as a training ground for African Elephants. Even though the temple was started in the Ptolemaic period most of the temple was completed in the First Century BC century by Graeco-Romans. There are two separate shrines here for the temples, Sobek, and Horus, which also makes it very likely that there were two separate priesthoods. This temple - although threatened by floods at a few points in history - is also in good condition.

Getting There:

QEA will pick you up and transport you via your personal Air-con to Edfu first. Here you will see the shrines first started by Ptolemy III while making your way to the inner walls of the temple. After seeing the temple of the falcon god, Horus, take a break for lunch before being transported to Kom Ombo.

First take a visit to the temple dedicated to Sobek, the crocodile god, later making your way to the temple of Haroeris, otherwise known as ‘Horus the Elder’.

Experience the deep well created for Sobek that was said to raise Crocodiles, before seeing where the different garrisons of Elephants were trained/kept. You will also notice the amazing design of the two separate hypostyle halls

and inner chambers being symmetrically divided between the two separate deities. From Kom Ombo enjoy your comfortable ride back to Luxor. There will be food and refreshments in your convoy through out the entire day in case you should need a snack on your journey.

*This adventure can also be made from Cairo for an additional cost.

Price - GBP £85 Sterling per person (USD$ 170)

Payment accepted in cash £ (GBP), LE (Egyptian Pound), € (Euro), USD$ (US Dollar).

[Minimum of 2 persons - discount for groups of 4 or more may be available.]

Included in this price is:

- Your personal air conditioned transportation to and from your hotel, along with all the featured sites you will be visiting.

-Lunch and refreshments through the day.

-Your own personal guide, who will give you a thorough explanation of all the sites you will be enjoying.

-All site entrance fees.

* Ask about our Single Supplement Package

*For an additional cost, if you are in Cairo, QEA can arrange your flight to Luxor. This would entail you flying to Luxor the night before your day adventure and your flight back to Cairo after finishing your tour (or if you would prefer, book another night at your hotel, and fly you out the following morning). The additional cost would include your plane tickets to and from Luxor, your hotel room, and transport from/to the airport. Please note that we can make these same arrangements from Alexandria, Aswan, and the Red Sea Resorts.

Price may vary.

For booking or enquiries, please contact QEA directly by e-mail:

Info@QuestForTheEgyptianAdventure.com
Images
of Kom Ombo - Please Click an image for the full-size version.

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Info@QuestForTheEgyptianAdventure.com - Contact QEA

http://www.QuestForTheEgyptianAdventure.com/

http://Egypt.QuestForTheEgyptianAdventure.com/   (Blog)

http://www.Travel-Ancient-Egypt.com/

http://Travel-Ancient-Egypt.com/

http://www.QEA-Travel-Egypt.com/

http://Holidays.QEA-Travel-Egypt.com/    (Blog)

http://QEA-Travel-Egypt.com/

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