A Magic Carpet Ride (Abu Simbel)

Modern magic carpets are of course… airplanes. Far less romantic, but they get the job done. I added an extra stop to Abu Simbel between my flight from Cairo to Aswan just to spend two hours at this temple. This became my favorite temple in Egypt.

A short way from the Sudan border, nested into a mountain some 3000 years ago, the two temples for King Ramessess II and Queen Nefertari were built to demonstrate the might and success of the empire.

They were entirely dismantled and reconstructed stone by stone on higher ground in the 60s to prevent complete submersion by the new Aswan dam and creation of Lake Nasser.

Aside from the gigantic statues and intricate reliefs, my favorite part was the birds that have made their home inside. Both temples were cheerfully alive with the songs of little sparrows flittering about. I wonder how Ramessess would feel about the bird droppings on the heads of the statues he commissioned to demonstrate his greatness. Did he have temple servants devoted to shooing away the birds back then?