Sailing through the Desert

As it flows through Lake Nasser the Nile presents a completely different image of the river to that at Thebes and Aswan. The desert imposes itself on the terrain and vegetation and habitation dwindle leaving a stark landscape where monuments of antiquity stand in splendid isolation. This arrangement has the added advantage of cruising on a vessel specially designed to view the lesser known reaches of this unique man-made lake. Whilst the tales of rescue of these Nubian monuments prior to the completion of the High Dam in the 1960s scarcely need re-telling the chronicle of the rescuing of individual temples adds a fascinating further dimension. The modern face of tourism is left behind as access today to these remote sites is usually by small tender or on foot. Today visits to the Valley of the Sphinxes at the temple of Wadi el-Sebua and the temples of Derr and Kalabsha are spectacular reminders of the foresight, dedication and labour involved in the preservation of these sites.

To impress the power of Egypt upon the traveller reaching Abu Simbel from the desert to the south, Ramses II constructed two majestic temples fronted by colossal statues of himself. The interior of both temples reward detailed examination and to appreciate the full majesty of this most evocative of ancient Egyptian sights we recommend this approach by water which allows for a longer stay than the usual brief visit. At first light the temple exteriors takes on a reddish hue with ever changing colours throughout the day and modern technology later reveals the evening Sound & Light performance to dramatic effect.