Lake Nasser Cruises

To the south of Aswan stands Lake Nasser, an enormous reservoir formed by the building of the high dam in 1971. Here you will discover the lesser known temples as well as Abu Simbel, Egypt's greatest monument after the Pyramids.
These ancient temples which represent incredible feats of modern engineering as they were relocated to escape the rising waters brought about by the building of the dam are best enjoyed on board a luxurious cruise across the tranquil waters of Lake Nasser.
Cruises on Lake Nasser operate 3 or 4 night durations aboard either the luxurious MS Eugenie or the MS Kasr Ibrim. We normally recommend combining stays in other resorts such as Luxor or Aswan.

Nefertari; The Queen of Abu Simbel

Nefertari was quite probably the only Egyptian royal wife, other than Queen Tiy, to be deified during her lifetime. Ramesses' temple at Abu Simbel also has a smaller temple nearby dedicated to Nefertari and the goddess Hathor—a very unusual act, as temples were usually dedicated to deities, not mortals.

Her status is confirmed by the fact that she was depicted as part of her husband’s entourage, even during important voyages such as a trip to Nubia to commission a new temple built at Abu Simbel. Nefertari is also depicted as being equal in size to Ramesses, a rarity indicating her importance to the pharaoh.

Her prominence is further supported by cuneiform tablets from the Hittite city of Hattusas (today Boghazkoy, Turkey), containing Nefertari's correspondence with the king Hattusilis and his wife Pudukhepa. She appears to have been instrumental in maintaining peace between Egyptians and Hittites, which eventually led to Ramesses' marriage to a Hittite princess.

Ramesses’ unusual affection for his wife, as written on her tomb's walls, shows that some Egyptian marriages were not simply matters of convenience or means to accumulate greater power and alliances, but were based around emotional attachment. Poetry written by Ramesses about his dead wife is featured on some of the walls of her burial chamber. ("My love is unique—no one can rival her, for she is the most beautiful woman alive. Just by passing, she has stolen away my heart.")

Inside Abu Simbel Temple

Inside of the Great Temple is 48m long from entrance to the Sanctuary.
The rooms are placed along the centeral axis in order of Pronaos, Hypostyle Hall, Vestibule and Sanctuary.
The pronaos is 18m long and 16.7m wide. There are eight Osiris pillars, each 10m high, arranged in two rows and depicting Osiris with the features of Ramesses.

The sanctuary is 4m by 7m and here sits the four statues of Ramesses II, Ptah, Amen Ra and Hamarkhis. Twice a year, at the solstices, the sun penetrates the entire length of the temple and floods the statues of Amon, Hamarkhis and the pharaoh with light. After about five minutes the light disappears and it is truly remarkable that Ptah is never struck by the rays of the sun, for Ptah is the god of darkness.

The Great Temple of Abu Simbel

The temple was dedicatede to the triad Amon-Ra, Harmakes, Ptah and Ramesses II.
The facade is 38m long and 31m high.
Four colossol seated statues of Ramesses II replace the supporting columns of the facade.
The rok-cut temple, as Abu Simbel, has not so-called exterior except facade. If the temples don't have statues, there is only entrance for the temple in exterior. We remember that architectures should have the innner space at first execpt the monument.

Abu Simbel Seti Hotel

Seti Abu Simbel Hotel situated 300 meters away from the famous rock temples of Pharaoh Ramses II and his Queen Nefertari. This together with the beauty of Lake Nasser is a reason itself to stay at this hotel and go down to the temples when the sun rises early morning. all rooms & suites, all with air-condition, private bathrooms, satellite television channels and telephone. Swimming pool, restaurants and bar - the discotheque is for the night owls, and motorboats are ready for trips on the lake.

Abu Simbel

Abu Simbel is an archaeological site comprising two massive rock temples in southern Egypt on the western bank of Lake Nasser about 290 km southwest of Aswan. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the "Nubian Monuments", which run from Abu Simbel downriver to Philae (near Aswan).

The Great Temple is dedicated to Ramesses II and a statue of him is seated with three other gods within the innermost part of the rock-cut temple. The temple's facade is dominated by four enormous seated statues of the Pharaoh, although one has been damaged since ancient times.

The relocation of the temples was necessary to avoid being submerged during the creation of Lake Nasser, the massive artificial water reservoir formed after the building of the Aswan dam on the Nile River. Abu Simbel remains one of Egypt's top tourist attractions.