ESCORTED TOURS EGYPT DESTINATIONS of pharaohs T


he joyful scenes outside Abu Simbel temple are


reminiscent of a festival. Though it’s barely dawn, whirling Sufi dervishes spin themselves into a devotional trance, Nubian dancers from the local village clothed in brilliant blue robes perform traditional stick dancing, and girls from Aswan


with hypnotic green eyes shimmy and shake to a never-ending drum beat. There are perhaps a couple of thousand tourists milling around, here to see a natural phenomenon that occurs only twice a year in this part of Egypt. The expectant crowd – which includes a fam trip group of Insight Vacations’ top-selling agents – is excitedly awaiting the event. From Aswan – one of the stops on the operator’s Wonders of Egypt tour, which covers many of the


country’s most important ancient sites – we’d taken a 40-minute flight leaving at 3am, to arrive in time.


As the sun begins its ascent


into the sky, our enthusiastic travel director and qualified Egyptologist, Hazem Khalaf, gives us a quick history lesson. Originally discovered by Giovanni Battista Belzoni in 1817, the Grand Temple – cut into a solid rock cliff – was built by Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II in 1274BC. The pharaoh is one of four jaw-dropping seated colossi who guard the entrance. Nearby, the Small Temple


celebrates Queen Nefertari, the favourite wife of the Egyptian king. What makes this site even more remarkable is the fact that Unesco


relocated the entire vast construction in the 1960s to save it from the waters of the Nile, while preserving the true purpose of the temple. The Egyptian architects built it with a spectacular solar ‘show’ in mind to pay tribute to their gods. On February 22 and October 22, the sun penetrates the inner temple, buried 60 metres deep inside, to illuminate the face of a smaller version of Ramses II. He is seated beside a trio of ancient deities also worshipped by the Egyptians. Peak viewing time for the


event is between 6.30am-7am, although claustrophobic visitors might decide they can’t face running the fairly narrow gauntlet to witness the exact moment the sun strikes the Pharoah’s face. No matter; it’s an electrifying introduction to the ingenious prowess of ancient Egypt’s architects, highlighting their advancements in the fields of


21 February 2019 travelweekly.co.uk 45

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