Travel Plans: Today we step off the Star Goddess and board an early morning plane for Abu Simbel, which is at the very south of Egypt. After touring around for about three hours, we get back on the plane and fly back to our ship. Breakfast will be on the run, but we should make it to the ship by 1:30 pm for a nice proper lunch.

Abu Simbel: One of the most amazing things about Abu Simbel is that these monumental temples were all picked up and moved—had they stayed where they were, the rising waters from the High Dam would have covered them. Thirty countries worked for ten years and 23 temples were saved.

The Temple of Ramesses II, the most magnificent monument in Nubia, was dedicated to Ramesses II and to the four universal gods Ptah, Re-Harakhte, Amun-Re, and Ramesses II himself. (He was deified after his 64 year reign.) Unlike most temples, it is not free-standing, but rather the façade was cut from the cliff face itself, hewn into a pylon surrounded by four seated statues of Ramesses II. The northern wall of the central hall was decorated with an extraordinary relief of the great battle won by the pharaoh against the Hittites, and the standing and seated statues are stunning. The temple was built at the height of the Egyptian empire, which brought peace with the Hittites, who ruled from Iraq to Palestine, and rule over Libya.

The Temple of Queen Nefertari was also saved. Nefertari was the most beloved of the wives of Ramesses II, and the temple has a beautiful relief of Nefertari watching lovingly as her husband smites his enemies. The most unusual feature is that the façade is not simply monster statues of the pharaoh or the gods. Typically the statues of the pharaoh’s family would be miniatures compared to the big man himself. Here, Ramesses special love for Nefertari is clear—the whole family stands tall.