DAY 11 - ABU SIMBEL
SYNOPSIS: This is about a pretty unique Abu Simbel experience and an update on what I hear in AS about Mubarak - already outdated as I am posting this. :-)
Four thousand tourists, almost all foreigners pour into Abu Simbel (AS) on a good and sunny winter day like today. About a dozen planes carry them in, a car convoy comes from Aswan, dozens of feloukas (the traditional Egyptian boats) anchor, and over 100 tour buses roam through town. That’s the usual. That’s what it was about two weeks ago. And hopefully, that’s what it will be soon again.
Today, I was one of six foreign tourists who arrived on the only overland bus currently accessible to foreigners, early this afternoon. I don’t know why the road from Aswan to AS is so sensitive. Years ago, when I was here for the first time in 1995, as an instructor for the EMU study abroad program, we could only come in through an armed army escort via convoy since flying for us was no option; it was just too expensive. The convoy lined up at 5 AM in Aswan, started to roll at 6 AM and arrived in AS around 9:30 AM. By 1 PM everyone had to be lined up and heading back. These restrictions have been eased a bit. Now there is still one convoy for private cars, but minibuses and overland buses are allowed to go without escort. There are several army check-points along the road. We were inspected twice today. No taxis are allowed to go in on their own and foreigners have to be in the convoy or on the bus – no more than four per bus. Strange! What’s magic about four? We were six today – just about every foreigner in Aswan was on that bus today – no, wait - there are two more Poles in town, I heard yesterday. No kidding, the locals really keep count of the foreign visitors these days. Thankfully, they let all six of us go.
Aside from us there were about 30-35 locals – that is all day. While I was there, I saw about ten. The other five tourists were all single travelers, all young guys, one from Malaysia, one from Turkey, and three from Japan. We came at 12:30 but they were already on the bus back to Aswan at 2 PM. I was the only one who stayed overnight. Souvenir shops, row after row, were closed. Roads were empty. Guards at the site were hanging out chatting, and bored. The light and sound show had been canceled indefinitely. But what is every one’s detriment turned into one of the most amazing experiences for me – to have Abu Simbel practically to myself. Almost three hours of silence in these temples is just amazing. I could sit, look, stroll, and play hide and seek with the guards.
There is no photography inside and even though I was the only one there, they took that seriously. One guard could be bribed – the others showed no mercy. The problem is that my camera, since it is an SLR, makes a noticeable clicking sound… The other obstacle to great photography is lighting. The interiors are too dark for hand-held photos – for magazine quality shots I would need a tripod. But no such thing would be possible. But I got some decent pictures anyhow. Nothing is ever perfect, of course. When I got to the temples, the Ramses temple was already more than half in the shade. The sun was perfect for the smaller Nefertari temple. I am debating whether to pay yet another $20 entrance ticket tomorrow morning and get the lighting right for Ramses as well. When would I ever be able to photograph these temples without any people ever again?
By 3 PM I was really the only one left – the entire temple grounds were empty – this is just too amazing. I remember vaguely being pushed through these temples in 1995 with hardly enough room to see anything. There was no way to take in the “big picture” of the halls, since most of the images were obscured by people. Today, I could contemplate, and see every angle and vista for as long as I wanted. If the circumstances were not so grim and the losses for most of the people around here not so devastating, I would thank Ganesh from the bottom of my heart for this impossible feat of obstacle-removals. The way it is, I feel bad that my luck comes at such a high price to others.
But I too, have to pay a price. There are some smaller temples between here and Aswan only accessible by boat. I have not seen them and they were high on my agenda. Ordinarily, a few boats would depart every day. Not now. So, I have nothing else to do here but go back for the morning light and then to head home to Aswan for a few more things to see there.
It is needless to say that I am the only guest in my hotel. Another flee-bag with ripped sheets… But the owner had tea with me this afternoon. He had nothing else to do. We watched Lake Nasser from the roof of his hotel which could be a really beautiful garden. As it is, it is an unfinished piece of dirt, filled with construction debris and dirt. But the view is great. The lake was bathed in the last rays of the sun. Small fishing boats were returning home. There were hardly any sounds. From the hotel you can also see the backs of the two temples. As you may know, the temples are not at their original location. Due to the rising water levels after the building of the High Dam, they were moved by UNESCO about 60 meters up onto higher grounds. I seem to remember that Germany was instrumental in this rescue mission.
The temples, which were originally carved out of a single cliff, were cut into thousands of blocks of stone, numbered, labeled, moved and reassembled. You have to look very carefully, to find the seams on the outside. They are visible only way up high or way down low. On the inside I found a few also but only after looking hard. The pieces were masterly put together, backed by a concrete shell, and covered with sand and rocks. Therefore the look of the back of the temples leaves to be desired. In 1995 this concrete shell was accessible. It no longer is. I was very disappointed to hear that. I have no pictures of this from 1995 – too many people, too little time, and no digital camera. Darn. I thought I could fill in this gap.
On the way back to my hotel I stopped at a little restaurant. No guests. The owner was overjoyed to see me and immediately switched the TV to BBC in English. I finally had about half an hour of international news again. By now Mubarak may have spoken to the nation. I will find out tomorrow what he said when I have breakfast at the same place again. I made a friend by sharing my Tahrir pictures with the owner Hassan. He was very touched and excited. I saw many people gathering outdoors around TVs which they had carried outside. It looks like here in AS more than anywhere in Egypt, they are eager for things to move forward. As tourism is essential for many people in Egypt, for AS there is little to nothing else. This is their high season and they are missing out on it. I keep my fingers crossed that Mubarak is stepping down soon rather than later. The pictures of Tahrir square were amazing. The movement seems to be growing by the day. I am beginning to hope again that Shema and her friends may be safe after all. Every time I think of her I get emotional.
Good night.