Why Traveling to Egypt?
If you are an Africa traveling enthusiast, Egypt most likely needs no introduction. This North African country has an abundant, mystical, and also widely known background going back to the old testimony days of the Christian scriptures.
Today, many historical monoliths from these ancient days still stand in Egypt, bring in millions of site visitors yearly. The ancient holy places at Abu Simbel are one terrific example.
Abu Simbel: History Info
Containing two sacred holy places carved out of a hill side, Abu Simbel is the 2nd major ancient manufactured vacationer destination in Egypt today, after the excellent pyramids.
The Abu Simbel holy places are part of the Nubian monoliths in Egypt, which have collectively been declared UNESCO world heritage websites. You need to check out Abu Simbel at the very least when, to value the charm of the holy places and also discover its mystical background, like thousands of various other local and foreign travelers do.
Place
The temples at Abu Simbel are currently positioned on top of a synthetic cliff on the western banks of Lake Nasser, regarding 300 kilometres southwest of the Aswan High Dam. This was not their initial site. Initially, these old temples were located about 200 feet below the existing location.
They were transferred in the 1960’s to stop them from being submerged in Lake Nasser, adhering to the building of the Aswan high dam. The temple moving as well as restoration is deemed as one of the wonderful design accomplishments of the contemporary world.
The Forehead’ Relocation
Done through the combined efforts of the Egyptian Government as well as UNESCO, the moving of the Abu Simbel cost over 60 million US bucks and also lasted 4 years. The holy places were reduced up right into huge slabs at their original website, each slab weighing over 3000 kgs. The slabs were after that moved to higher ground extremely gingerly to prevent damages.
At the new site, the items were meticulously reconstructed, considering all the components that had actually remained in place at the original website including the exact building and construction measurements and also the position of the sunlight. There is a small museum outside the Abu Simbel, where you can obtain a step by step paperwork of the relocation and reassembly of both temples.
The gallery likewise has a lot of various other info such as the background of Abu Simbel and the ancient kingdoms who worshiped in it.
Abu Simbel History
The two holy places were developed during the power of Pharaoh Ramesses II, reputedly to memorialize his victory at the Battle of Kadesh.
Touring Abu Simbel
Four enormous sculptures of Pharaoh Ramesses sit at the front of the Abu Simbel. This is the thrilling sight that welcomes your eyes as you come close to the holy place. You will certainly feel both overshadowed and astonished by its sheer size.
Among the statuaries between has however been destroyed from the head to the waist by a previous earthquake. At the feet of these gigantic sculptures are a lot smaller sized statues, probably of participants of the then imperial family.
When you explore the Abu Simbel, you will probably remain in the firm of travel guides who will awe you with stories of the fluctuate of ancient kingdoms, as well as of gods who might spit fire and transform day right into night. Don’t forget to visit Abu Simbel Vacation site.
By the time you get past the very first entryway of the Abu Simbel, you might be so alarmed that you will not want to fall also a step behind the scenic tour team. The first entry causes a hallway lined with even more statuaries, wall inscriptions as well as cavern paints.
A lot of the background about the temples has actually been ended from the pictures carved on these wall surfaces. Nonetheless, a few of these images have never ever been fully interpreted.
As you go deeper inside the temples, it gets even more attractive, intriguing as well as virtually unsettling. If you enjoy secrets and scary stories, you make certain to have a remarkable experience here.
At the inner shrine inside the temple, you will certainly discover four statues of the main gods seated on a high platform. The most exceptional aspect of this temple is that it was built in such a way that twice a year, in late February and also late October, the initial rays of the sun radiate straight down on the back wall surface of the shrine brightening the gods and giving the temple a spooky yet powerful visibility.
This phenomenon points to the amazing feeling of design as well as preparation that ancient Egyptians had, especially when it involved the sunlight as well as other heavenly bodies.
The temples are still taken into consideration spiritual by some Egyptians as well as do not be amazed if you discover a group of people outside the holy place claiming a petition while dealing with the sun. Many people who count on the sanctity of the Abu Simbel like to go to the website in February and also October when the rays of the sun brighten the innermost sparkle and make the sculptures of the gods “come alive”.
Getting There
To travel to Abu Simbel, you can take a trip from Cairo or Aswan to the airstrip behind Abu Simbel, or you can go by bus. The holy places are located in a really remote setting with really couple of occupants in the area. You will need to book Abu Simbel Sun Festival Tours.
The area is largely desert land as well as temperature levels can skyrocket to uncomfortable heights during the day and then go down to skin permeating chilly throughout the evening.
