San Marino - San Marino
Foto: The temples of Abu Simbel (bron: Ronald van der Veer)
Egypt - The temple of Abu Simbel was carved out of rock by order of Ramses II. Originally, the temple stood 200 meters eastward. However, due to the construction of the High Dam near Aswan, nearly 300 kilometers away, the Abu Simbel temple would have been submerged underwater. Therefore, in the 1960s, a rescue operation was launched to move the impressive temples. In front of Ramses II’s temple stand four enormous colossi of Ramses. The 20-meter-high statues form the façade of the Abu Simbel temples. We visit the temple with its beautiful wall paintings from the period of Ramses II. At the very back of the temple, we visit the sanctuary. The statue of Ramses II is positioned here alongside Amon-Re, Ptah, and Re-Horakhty. On two days of the year, sunlight from the rising sun shines through the entrance exactly onto the statues that were formerly covered in gold. Ramses also built the Small Temple in honor of his favorite wife Nefertari. Here too, the reliefs are dedicated to Ramses II’s victories.
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Citadel of Cairo
Egypt - The Citadel is also especially busy due to the Sugar Festival (Eid al-Fitr). While a line of over a hundred meters of Egyptians waits to enter the Citadel, we can enter through the special tourist entrance. The likely difference is that we pay, and they ...
Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx
Egypt - Of course, I knew the pictures from history books — the pyramids of Giza: three stone structures whose construction still remains a mystery. The illustrations showed thousands of workers stacking stone upon stone. Beautiful, of course. But I will never ...
The temples of Karnak and Luxor
Egypt - At the end of the afternoon, we visit the temples of Karnak, about three kilometers from Luxor. With seven horse-drawn carriages, we travel in a procession to Karnak. In front of the temple, Mohammed gives a detailed explanation about the temple. Karnak ...
The Valley of the Kings in Luxor
Egypt - The Valley of the Kings is the burial site of the pharaohs from the period 1500 – 1000 BC. As it turns out, we are not the only tourists — it is incredibly crowded. For many day-trippers from Hurghada, this is one of the must-see attractions. From ...
The White Desert in Egypt
Egypt - At seven o’clock, accompanied by Ale, we board the bus. Ale is our guard for the coming days through the desert. A tough young guy of just 21, with a huge gun on his belt. It looks safe, but I estimate he will be gone when we really need him. In Egypt, ...