Today we have to leave the boat and at 7 am, Barakah, a sailor, comes knocking at the door to wake us up. All the suitcases are put in the living room. We have a quiet breakfast. The atmosphere is a little calmer because we are all sad that it is already finished.

Reminder: if you haven’t done so yet, please read our previous travel diaries in Egypt first: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6 and #7

Part 1: Travel Diary
Part 2: Practical Tips

Part 1: Travel Diary

The boat moors a few kilometers from Aswan. The crew helps us to load the suitcases in a mini-bus and here we are leaving the boat for good. It is only now that I realize that the name of the boat is written on a sign lol 🙂

Today’s visit is a must see and long awaited. It is the temple of Philae, saved when it was already in the water following the construction of a first dam in 1902 by the English. It took 8 years to build a kind of protective wall, pump out all the water inside, cut everything into small pieces, and move the temple. A pharaonic work! This temple is dedicated to Isis, the universal mother, a goddess loved and venerated even by some Copts.

How to get there?

To go there is the course of the fighter. The mini bus drops us off first in front of the ticket office. We queue up to pass the security control. The passage by the landing stage follows which became incidentally a souk.

Then, the person in charge of the boats assigns us a boat (the rates are fixed, no need to negotiate). And 15 minutes later we arrive on the island where the temple of Philae is currently located. It is the same boat that will come to pick us up so if you travel without a guide, remember the name of your captain and/or just take a picture of him. Everybody knows each other here.

Look on the picture, the white line on the left is the 1st dam.

We see the temple from the boat, it’s beautiful! The temple of Philae is now on the island of Aguilkia

Arrived on the spot, we aren’t alone. Today many cruise boats leave Aswan so the attendance is at its maximum. We still manage from time to time to be with only one or two tourists but it is rare.

This place, magical for many, loses its charm because of a large number of tourists (all the tourists of Aswan are here in fact), but we disregard all that and only look at the details and the precision of every inch here, it is pure happiness.

What strikes us is that this temple is even more hammered than other temples, being the last to resist the Copts. So without mercy, the Copts hammered well and the reliefs of the pharaohs and the reliefs of the gods.

The proof that karma exists is that even the graffiti of the Copts will be hammered then by the Moslems 😀 Voilà.

The left part is hammered mercilessly, while the right part is intact, probably covered by a layer of plaster instead of being hammered (it’s boring to hammer, you know, there are so many reliefs !!). Thanks to them for being lazy and not destroying everything.

Behind this wall (on the left) is the temple of Imhotep, go ahead, there are some reliefs of sphinxes and there is no one there.

We look with amusement at the graffiti of the visitors. Special mention for the graffiti in French done by a member of Napoleon’s expedition to Egypt. Moreover, we notice that a certain “JB” passed here in 1886. Some are almost respectful (they do them on areas where there are no reliefs), others aren’t only ugly but also completely crush the reliefs and hieroglyphics.

We then enter a small courtyard, very very pretty. Our guide shows us how to recognize the goddesses through the reliefs and hieroglyphics. Isis often has a chair on her head, or a chair in hieroglyphics. Whereas Hathor’s hieroglyph is represented by a square (a house/house) with the falcon (Horus) inside. Hathor is the dwelling place of Horus. Isn’t it beautiful? Some suggest the importance of matriarchy in ancient Egypt, quite visible in the reliefs and size of the goddesses vs. the gods.

It is here that I see with happiness these Hathoric columns with the ears of cows and the pretty head of Hathor. She is the only goddess to be shown from the front like this.

This part (building on the left) is a Mammisi, dedicated to Horus, the son of Isis. Note the water level on the wall. The water has perfectly well cleaned the reliefs 🙂

The ceiling is beautiful. This part is little visited by tourists, enjoy it!

We enter the Hypostyle Hall (with many columns) and then enter the interior of the Great Temple of Isis. This part is full of people and loses its charm, but we will return there for sound and light and I will show you the beauty of this place, so beautiful that my heart stopped for a millisecond.

There is a Coptic cross, scenes depicting offerings to the god, and beautifully decorated columns.

To note: the head of Isis which became a big hole. Some say that it was heavily hammered, others explain that a Copt wanted to take the head of Isis in his house because some Christians think that Isis, the universal mother, is also the Virgin Mary. It doesn’t surprise me that religions overlap and that the same goddess is represented and called differently from one culture to another. Moreover, it would be interesting to read Carl Gustav Jung’s work on the collective unconscious, archetypes, as well as the work of Stanislav Grof on this subject.

We visit the Temple of Augustus at the rear, where the last hieroglyphics on the wall were written in haste, probably by one of the last priests who still spoke the language.

There is a small temple behind it dedicated solely to Hathor. Here you have Hathor columns and also the famous “calm the lady” scene, as our guide says. We see a Hathor a shiver of anger, who receives as a gift an antique “Rolex” to help her calm down. This scene is represented in almost all the temples we visited, proof that the ancients already understood that a woman needed gifts, beautiful gifts. I sit in front of it and put it on the blog so that JB doesn’t forget it.

The visit ends with a small unfinished temple(Trajan’s kiosk) but of an incredible harmony, which overlooks the Nile (it is the one we see with our feet in the water at the beginning of the article). There are scratch marks on the walls because the former visitors wanted to bring back a small piece / some dust from the temple (good luck charm).

We then rest quietly in the cafeteria while our guide calls our next guide to pass the baton to him. In the cafeteria there is a corner where several brochures and books on Islam are translated into 4-5 languages and made available free of charge by the government. This allows you to learn more about Islam, and also serves as a means of education for Egyptians as well. There is even the Quran translated into French if you are interested.

Change of guide

The car drops us off in the city center, right in front of the car of our other (English-speaking) guide Mick. If you followed the story, the guide I currently have is sent by the cruise company. Now that the cruise is over, an Egyptian agency takes over. We say goodbye, with a heavy heart, to our companions and our guide. It’s going to feel weird to continue the tour without them now. Our boat neighbors have the chance to travel again with Bassem for two more days around Aswan.

So Mick (pronounced Michael) has the heavy responsibility of finding us a restaurant during the noon prayer on a Friday (it’s just the most important prayer of the week and everyone closes their store to go pray).

After coming across a closed door, the second attempt is the right one. Unfortunately the restaurant doesn’t reach the same level as the chef’s kitchen in dahabiya 🙂 we became too difficult. I opted for stuffed pigeons.

The cool thing about our guide is that he has the patience to bring us and do whatever we ask. As it is a private tour, we can manage our time. So, he brought us, at our request, to buy an Internet recharge for our vodafone SIM card (12go gone in 6 days because we are all big Internet users on the boat…). We find it at 200 pounds for 8Go (10€).

Road to Abu Simbel

Around 1:30 pm, a 12-seater car for us alone comes to pick us up and take us to Abu Simbel. The agency will explain me later that it prefers to send me a big car so I can sleep lying down (the trip lasts 3h30).

At the exit of Aswan, there is a check point and the driver shows the permission issued by the police (our agency has taken the necessary steps to obtain it). For this type of trip, it is necessary to declare the trip at least one day in advance to the police. So if you are traveling by backpack, come with plenty of passport copies and remember to book your trip the day before. The travel agency or the driver will take care of declaring your trip to the police. This is very important. It is to be done as soon as you leave one city to go to another in fact (by car only).

Speaking of transportation, there are 2 buses leaving Aswan for Abu Simbel: around 4am and around 7am. The 4h bus is taken by tourists. The 7h bus is taken by the locals (there are some who smoke inside) and our guide does not recommend it. The return is done a few hours later, in the same day. It is possible, for those who want to sleep in Abu Simbel, to book a bus for the outward journey (around 4am), and to book the bus back the next day (9am the next day).

Before the journey was considered risky and was done under the escort of a military convoy. Now it is no longer the case, so to leave after 7 am you need a private driver like us. The only condition is to arrive before sunset so departure from Aswan max at 2pm.

Hardly out of Aswan, we are already in the desert. About a hundred km later we see a real mirage effect: it seems that a big lake is waiting for us (the mountains are reflected in addition) it’s magical. The driver stops at a moment to fix something and we take the opportunity to run in the middle of the road. There is nobody. We are in the middle of nowhere. Except to go to Abu Simbel, the others take this road to go directly to Sudan. It is only the 2nd time that we are in the desert (the 1st time being in Doha, at night), what an emotion!

Our driver seems to make this trip regularly. At one point, he stops in front of a store in the middle of nowhere and the guys greet him warmly. These people stay here for 20 days and then return to Aswan for 10 days. They have everything they need to (over)live, even a bit of signal to connect to the Internet. There are two cute dogs who keep them company. Nevertheless, it is really a lost hole that makes us think of a western setting.

The Nefertari Hotel

We arrive in Abu Simbel around 5pm and we are dropped off at our hotel Nefertari ( link Booking) It is one of the two best hotels (4* Egyptian standard) in the area, which has had its heyday. It faces the lake Nasser. As there are few tourists sleeping in Abu Simbel, we are upgraded and our room overlooks the pool with a view, in the distance, on Lake Nasser. Our agency chose this hotel because it is really only 5 minutes walk from the Abu Simbel complex. The hotel has a huge potential but it seems not to have been maintained for 30 years. Moreover, the rate sheet hung in the room indicates the rates for the season 2010 – 2011, it has not been touched since the revolution. Dinner is included, I opted for grilled fish, an excellent choice because it is fresh and comes from Lake Nasser, just across the street.

Sunset, magnificent!

Sound and Light in Abu Simbel

Our guide Mick keeps inquiring left to right to know if we will be alone today and tomorrow in Abu Simbel. On the one hand, he is relieved that there are enough people for the sound and light show (you need a minimum of 10 people otherwise either you buy all 10 tickets or the show is cancelled) – on the other hand, he is worried for us when he sees huge buses park in the parking lot.

He tells us he doesn’t understand why there are so many cars. OK, there are 2 cruise ships that are on the scene, but why are there so many tourist coaches? He inquires and tells us that a big group has decided to do as we do: sleep in Abu Simbel. Apparently the cruises stop here on Thursdays and Fridays, but with the resumption of tourism, there are more and more individual tourists like us sleeping in Abu Simbel. We are with at least 8 other guests in the hotel. That’s great! Few tourists sleep here because the infrastructure does not lend itself to it. There are too few hotels able to accommodate large groups, and apart from Abu Simbel, there isn’thing to visit in the surroundings.

In any case, I strongly recommend that you spend a night here. There is an incredible atmosphere, one feels peaceful, euphoric. This is one of the three places where I feel best in Egypt (I feel good everywhere in Egypt but especially here).

So, all Sound and Light shows in Egypt now cost 250 pounds per person. There are five of them in Egypt and we are going to attend 4 of them hehe (I talked about Karnak here). My guide says that the one in Abu Simbel is the best because the projection is done directly on the temples. There is a passage where they quickly show what the temples would have looked like before (with colors and reliefs and everything). The text is a bit too theatrical (as with all sound and light), we sit a bit far away, but Abu Simbel is Abu Simbel. The place is magical in itself.

When I saw the 4 statues of Ramses II for the first time in the half-light (they aren’t lit before the show), I jumped for joy and uttered a small not at all discreet cry “yéééééééé”. I had the same feelings of euphoria as when I entered the Luxor Temple. It’s MAGICAL! This place is magic. Moreover, with the stars, the moon that you can see very very well… despite a hundred tourists next door, I have the impression that they no longer exist.

My guide Bassem (from the cruise), guessing my fascination for Abu Simbel, offered me a ticket of one Egyptian pound. It is very rare as a ticket (because it isn’t worth anything, about 5 cents of euro, you can’t buy anything with it). On it, you can see Abu Simbel. He also offered me a coin of one Egyptian pound with the mask of Tutankhamun on it. For me, it is worth gold.

For Abu Simbel, given the few tourists there are, the language chosen tonight is that of the majority of tourists: French. The others are entitled to an audio guide (free) in the language of their choice (there are quite a lot of choices but Vietnamese isn’t one of them, damn it). Everybody goes to the first show at 6pm to make sure there are enough people. If you want to go to the 2nd show (7pm I think), you might have to buy the 10 tickets minimum (2500 pounds, or 125€, not too expensive for a privatized screening in one of the most beautiful places in Egypt no?)

After the show, we are allowed to admire the outside of the temples (under the projection of lights) and take pictures. I strongly recommend you to stay because the reliefs are more visible under the light, especially the temple of Nefertari.

Tomorrow, we will visit the two temples and I will tell you more (this way). On that, big kisses!

Part 2: Practical Tips

Practical advice

How to get to the Temple of Philae from Aswan?

• Between the center of Aswan and the Temple of Philae is the old dam (the first). Therefore, you cannot take a felucca from the city center to get there. This isn’t possible.
• You will have to pay for a cab which will be waiting for you there. I don’t know the official fares, but in my opinion 200 pounds is a very correct price.
• When you get there, buy the entrance ticket: 140 pounds/person (rates end 2018)
• Go to the pier, a person will point out a boat to you. Ask for the captain’s name, or take a picture of the captain. The captain will be waiting for you and will take you back to the dock. Only pay him/her at the end. WARNING: despite the fixed rates, it is customary to leave a tip of 20 pounds (1€). You will be very rude if you don’t.
• Boat rates are clearly indicated: PER BOAT
  • 150 pounds per day (group of more than 8 people: 17 pounds/person)
  • 165 pounds in the evening (groups over 8 people: 20 pounds/person)
• You can consult the schedules of the Sound and Light at the Temple of Philae (+ the language broadcast) on this site: http: //www.soundandlight.com.eg/Shows/PhilaeHome/Timetable.aspx it is recommended to go to the first show and opt for headphones because it may not have enough people (from Saturday night until Thursday night)

How to get to Abu Simbel?

By bus : There are 2 buses leaving Aswan for Abu Simbel: around 4am and around 7am. Contact your hotel directly. I have been given a rate around 250-300 pounds per person for the round trip . The 4h bus is taken by tourists. The 7h bus is taken by the locals (there are some who smoke inside) and our guide does not recommend it. The return is a few hours later, in the same day (in this case at 9 am for the bus which leaves at 4 am). It is possible, for those who want to sleep in Abu Simbel, to book a bus for the outward journey (around 4am), and to book the bus back the next day (9am the next day).

On excursion : If you wish to book a group excursion with a French-speaking guide, you can book it here for 73€ per person. The bus leaves at 4 am, and the tour lasts 2 hours, and the bus returns to Aswan the same day.

With a private driver : Before the journey was considered risky and everything was done in a military convoy. Now this is no longer the case, so to leave after 7 am you need a private driver like us. The only condition is to arrive before sunset so departure from Aswan at 2pm.

By plane There is also a flight leaving Aswan at 11:55am to Abu Simbel (count 50€ – there isn’t one every day) and a return flight at 8:10am (which I don’t recommend because you won’t have enough time to visit the temples).

Be careful, as I said, do not expect to show up in Aswan and leave for Abu Simbel in the day. It is necessary to book at least one day in advance, to do the paperwork, ask for authorization etc… I recommend you to contact your hotel in Aswan and ask them to book the bus for you. Don’t forget to send them a photocopy of your passport beforehand. If you take the plane, you don’t need to declare anything to the police 😀

I highly recommend you to spend a night in Abu Simbel to witness the sound and light + visit the temples very early in the morning like us. You’ll see, it’s incredible. Hotel Nefertari (link Booking) is only 5 minutes walk from the temples.

What you would have had to pay if you were doing the same thing we do independently

• Downtown Aswan => Temple of Philae: 200LE by cab with waiting on site
• Entrance ticket for Philae: 140LE/person
• Boat: 150 pounds per day (groups over 8 people: 17 pounds/person)
• Boat: 165 pounds in the evening (groups over 8 people: 20 pounds/person)
• Sound and Light at the Temple of Philae: 250 lbs/person
• Aswan => Abu Simbel => Aswan by tourist bus, departure at 4am, return at 9am: 300 pounds/person
• Aswan => Abu Simbel => Aswan in private car: Don’ t know
• Aswan => Abu Simbel => Aswan in excursion with English speaking guide : departure at 4am, return at 9am : 73€/person, book here
• Hotel Nefertari in Abu Simbel: from 80€/night, dinner included(link Booking)
• Sound and Light in Abu Simbel: 250 pounds/person