Egypt Tour in January 2023

PART III

ASWAN AND ABU SIMBEL

As I reached Aswan, Travco agent met me in the Station and introduced to the guide Mr. Hany and informed that he would be available for the next two days for in and around Aswan.   Immediately after coming out of the railway station, to the left I could see the Aswan Market.  With the luggage in the vehicle, the tour of Aswan started and the plan was to board the Cruise Boat JAZ Crown Jewel, after visiting Aswan High Dam and Philae temple.

From the railway station, we travelled around 8 km to reach the new dam on the upper stream built between the Years 1960-64 on the Nile River.  This also enabled to have a very big lake named Nasser lake also called Lake Nubia, in Upper Egypt and northern Sudan.  The process was to block half the river and allowing the water to flow to a lake and then closing it also.  The earlier dam which was there was only useful for storage of water.  The new one was made as a Hydro-Electric project and thus enabled for Power Generation.  The storage capacity was increased too.

 The Aswan High Dam is 3,830 metres long, 980 metres wide at the base, 40 metres wide at the crest (the top) and 111 metres in height.    The Aswan High Dam was built in the 1960s and dedicated in 1971. The High dam thus spared the farmers from seasonal droughts and flooding, and generated electricity, spurring Egypt's rapid development.   With a reservoir capacity of 132km³, the Aswan High Dam provides water for around 33,600km² of irrigation land. It serves the irrigation needs of both Egypt and Sudan.  Egypt and Sudan reached an agreement in 1959 that saw the allocation of 18.5 cubic kilometres of water to Sudan.    The dam also improved navigation across the Nile, benefiting the tourism and fishing industries. Water from the dam is used to feed 12 power turbines, which provides half of Egypt’s power demands.   

Besides, Nasser lake, man-made along with the construction of High Dam has increased the amount of arable land and crop production in Egypt.  The creation of the lake threatened to submerge a number of significant historical sites— notably the tombs and temples at Philae and Abu Simbel—under its waters. The Egyptian government appealed to UNESCO, with whose assistance many monuments were dismantled and reconstructed on safer ground.  A lot of Nubians were resettled in other parts of Aswan, who were earlier living along the Nile, after the construction of High Dam and also formation of the big reservoir Nasser Lake.

                                                                      Aswan Old (Low) Dam

                                                                     ASWAN HIGH DAM

NASSER LAKE

Philae Temple, Aswan
After the High Dam tour, we went to the boat jetty and crossed the Nile river to see the Philae Temple.   As described already, the temple had to be shifted after the water was led into the new Nasser lake while constructing the High Dam.  Philae Temple was relocated in 1971 to higher ground on Agilkia Island.  There are iron rod markings made to easily reassemble at the new site.  Built during the reign of Ptolemy II (Egypt's Greco-Roman Period), the Temple of Isis at Philae is dedicated to Isis, Osiris, and Horus. The temple walls contain scenes from Egyptian mythology of Isis bringing Osiris back to life - with key of life, giving birth to Horus, and mummifying Osiris after his death.  She was worshipped both by Egyptians and Nubians.  

 The monuments of Philae cover four major epochs: the last part of the Pharaonic era, the Ptolemaic period, the Roman epoch and the Christian period. The chief monuments are the Temple of Isis (1) and her son Horus (Harendotus) (2), the beautiful Arch of Hadrian (3), the Temple of Hathor (4) and the Kiosk (5), which is also known as Pharaoh's Bed.

On the front of the east tower, a huge relief depicts Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos (Father of Cleopatra VII) grasping a band of enemies by the hair and raising his club to smite them, with Isis, the falcon-headed Horus, and Hathor on the left.   Above are two reliefs of Neos Dionysos presenting the crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt to Horus and Nephthys (right) and offering incense to Isis and Harpocrates (left).  Harpocrates was the god of silence in the Hellenistic religion, adapted by the Greeks from the god Horus, who in Egypt represented the rising sun.

The central courtyard is made up of row of columns and to the west of it is the Birth House where Horus was born to Isis.  The Second Pylon provides a fittingly regal entry to the inner sanctum of the temple, with a magnificent doorway 32 meters wide and 12 meters high.

The eight-columned Vestibule is the first room of the inner temple area and was originally separated from the court by screens between the columns on the front.   Here are Coptic crosses and Greek inscription incised into the walls that show how the temple was transformed into a Christian place of worship during the early Byzantine age under the Coptic Bishop Theodore.

Further, when you proceed inside is the Isis temple.  After passing through a number of antechambers flanked by dark side chambers, you come to the Sanctuary, lit by two small windows.  The granite base here (presented by Euergetes I, also was Ptolemy III and his wife Berenice) would have held the sacred barque bearing the image of Isis.

To the left of the first antechamber is a small room with reliefs of the king in the presence of Isis. On the west side of this room is a door leading out of the temple to arrive at the Gateway of Hadrian.

Among other things, it bears the abaton decree with regulations concerning the cult of Osiris on Biga and a text recording the donation of a vineyard to the Temple of Isis. There are various scenes involving Osiris, as well as other gods and the Roman Emperor Hadrian. In the vestibule that proceeds the gate there is an image of the Nile god entwined by a serpent and pouring water from two jars, symbolizing the birth of the Nile River. To the north of the gate are the remains of the Temple of Harendotes (a form of Horus).

Just 50 meters east of the Temple of Isis is the little Temple of Hathor, built by Philometor (Ptolemy VI) and Euergetes II (Ptolemy VIII) in honour of Hathor-Aphrodite.

Southeast of the Temple of Hathor, on the banks of the river, is the Kiosk of Trajan, with its impressive columns.   The unfinished monument is attributed to Trajan, Roman emperor from 98 to 117 AD, due to his depiction as pharaoh seen on some of the interior reliefs.  The kiosk has 14 massive columns with carved floral capitals. The capitals of the plant columns were intended to be surmounted by sistrum (a percussion instrument that become a representative cult object of Hathor) capitals.   Inside are reliefs showing Trajan as a pharaoh making offerings to Osiris, Isis and Horus. 

There is light and sound show too available at Philae temple with vehicle pick up arrangement.

Unfinished Obelisk

Egyptian kings liked to have obelisks made and dedicated to themselves by carving their names and religious dedications onto the four sides of the obelisk’s shaft.    They are found throughout Egypt and usually stand in towering pairs in front of entrances to temples. Known in ancient Egyptian language as tekhen, they are made from a single piece of stone with a rectangular shaft and topped by a gilded pyramidion to reflect the sun’s rays. 

The unfinished obelisk site is at a distance of 3 Kms from the Aswan Railway Station.  

Believed to have been commissioned by Hatshepsut (c. 1473–1458 BC) for the temple of Amun in Karnak, work was abandoned because of flaws in the stone and the presence of multiple fissures.  Three sides of the enormous shaft were completed when the masons discovered a crack in the granite and abandoned it, still half attached to the bedrock it was being carved from.   

 

Soon after this, I returned to where cruise JAZ Jewel King was stationed, boarded and occupied the cabin allotted and had my lunch.  (The last part of the posting is about the boat). The evening was free and there was no programme.   The cruise also was to start only in the afternoon of the next day i.e. 25th Jan. 

A few snaps taken in the Railway station inside and outside and in the City is shown below in a collage.

 

Abu Simbel

It was planned for an early start from Aswan to proceed to Abu Simbel at 4 am in the morning.  The cruise boat kitchen made ready the breakfast and packed and gave it to be carried in a bag.  Also, they served coffee at that time.   However, all vehicles will have to stop at the check post and clearance to proceed to Abu Simbel is normally given from 5 am only.  It takes hardly half an hour to proceed to the check post from any part of Aswan and hence all vehicles wait at check post to form a queue and to leave at 5 to 5.15 am depending where your vehicle is in the queue.    The drive to Abu Simbel takes around 3 hours and thus we reached around 8.45 am with a break of 10 minutes on the way.

Lot of new Canal works have been taken up recently which I could see on the way and also farming is being done in these areas.  I learnt a lot of new areas are being brought into cultivation with Wheat and Sugar being the most that are cultivated.  The vastness of Nasser Lake is seen to be believed at Abu Simbel.  This temple which would have submerged in waters of Nasser Lake was rebuilt in the adjacent ground a Km away with the help of UNESCO and was declared a heritage site.  Iron rod markings were made before dismantling to be assembled later at the new site. The Abu Simbel Temples were dismantled and relocated in 1968 on the desert plateau 64 meters above and 180 meters west of their original site.

Abu Simbel temple is dedicated to the worship of Ramses II himself and the great deities of ancient Egypt, Amon, Ra, and Ptah.  Abu Simbel is a village in the ancient Upper Egyptian region of Nubia, are dedicated to sun gods, 13th century Pharaoh Ramesses II and his first wife Nefertari and a temple is dedicated to the Goddess Hathor.  The Abu Simbel Sun Festival is a bi-annual event that takes place at the spectacular temple of Ramses II in the south of Egypt. On two days of the year the central chamber of the temple is illuminated by the sun. 

The entrance to the Great Temple is flanked by four colossal statues on its facade, 20 metre statues, each one representing Rameses II seated on a throne. The façade of the main temple is decorated with hieroglyphs that commemorate the great victory of Ramses II at the Battle of Kadesh.  Ramses built the Temple at Abu Simbel in Egypt to intimidate his enemies and seat himself amongst the gods.  Inscriptions within the temple indicates there was a sculptor by name Pyay, who was entrusted with the work of construction of the temple.  The monumental work had to be carried out with the help of multitude of workmen.   It appears a lot of painting also would have been used at that time.  Most of the wall pictures had been for bringing out the military glory of Ramses II, with the various phases of the battle of Kadesh.   The long epic poem written by Ramses II court poet Pentaur is engraved in hieroglyphs on the walls of this temple as well as that of Luxor and Karnak.

The Abu Simbel Temple is actually two individual temples, both rock cut structures, and both built during the reign of King Ramses II, 19th Dynasty Pharaoh, sometime in the 1200 B.C. time period. One temple is dedicated to King Ramses II, and the second temple is dedicated to his beloved wife Queen Nefertari.    Allegedly, the Swiss explorer Burckhardt was led to the site by a boy named Abu Simbel in 1813 CE and the site was then named after him.  The Pharaoh is shown wearing the Pshent, or Double Crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. The head of the second statue from the left is broken off and laying on the ground in front of the statue. This happened during an earthquake just after the temple was completed.   The height of the statues are around 10 Metres and huge and can be seen from a distance and the temple looks so beautiful on the banks of the Nasser lake.

After a little bit of purchase of souvenirs at Abu Simbel, the return journey to Aswan commenced and on reaching Aswan bought some herbal medicines and I retuned to the cruise boat stationed at Aswan around 2 pm and was in time for the Lunch.  

 

The cruise was to start at 14.30 hours from Aswan but started a little late and proceeded to Kom Ombo and the same has been posted in Part IV.