Early departure, drive from Aswan to the Abu Simbel Temple almost 300 km. Minibus: 6 Spaniards, 2 Russians and me 1 Lithuanian, funny but at the security checkpoint they are written down as "Almanya" which means German tourists, I don't know if the country is more famous or it's easier to keep statistics.

It was a long time dream to see the unique temple of Abu Simbel, but while in Aswan I was running out of time, unforeseen obstacles appeared, the locals discouraged me that the road was long or that it was not the right time yet, but I often dreamt and this day dawned. The road from Aswan to Abu Simbel was through the desert, endless sands, good and smooth asphalt, then the landscape changed, sand hills with volcanic black peaks, over 3.5 hours and we were there.

As we had booked the tour and the pass to Abu Simbel the day before, the tickets had to be bought at the local ticket office, they now cost 245 LE, for those of you who have booked the tour the tickets are of course included in the price.

I have read and wondered a lot about the Abu Simbel Temple, I imagined in my mind how the Great Temple of Ramzi II took about 20 years to build, how the stone blocks in the solid rock were hewn and turned into sculptures. Frescoes and bas-reliefs telling scenes of life and war, pharaohs, gods and goddesses... And finally, this magnificence, filled with sand and by sheer chance, was only discovered in 1813 by the Swiss orientalist Jean-Louis Burckhardt on a voyage and shared with the Italian explorer Giovanni Belzoni, who only in 1817 succeeded in getting inside the complex.

The construction of the Aswan Dam threatened to submerge the monuments of the ancient civilisation, and from 1959 onwards donations were collected to preserve the Nubian monuments and to relocate some of the temples or Nubian settlements.

I tried to imagine how giant blocks weighing 20 to 30 tonnes were cut up and moved like a lego set on an artificial island about 200 metres from the original site, in the crocodile-inhabited artificial lake of Naser, and put back together again. This required extreme care, time and, of course, millions of money. That was the picture before we came here.

To my deep disappointment, the phone, which was charging at night because of a bad connection, was charging and showing only 22% of the battery, with a spare battery left at home. Well, I guess I will have to remember the old days when we had film cameras and took only a few shots.

As soon as we approached the Great Temple, dedicated to the gods of the time, Ra, Harakhuchi, Pta, Amun and Ramses II himself, whose statues are on the facade, it took our breath away. The four huge statues of Ramses II, 20 metres high, with the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. The pharaoh is seated on a throne, and the left-hand statue was damaged by the earthquake, his severed head and torso left at the statue's feet, exactly as they were found. At the feet of Ramses II are many smaller statues of his beloved wife Nefertari Merimut, the pharaoh's mother Mutua, his first two sons and six daughters.

Inside, the guide cannot lead the tour, so we have to see the experience for ourselves. As soon as you enter, you are greeted by the chirping of the birds, which have their nests among the stone blocks. The inside of the temple is triangular, like most ancient Egyptian temples. From the entrance, the rooms get smaller, but the complex itself is unusual because of the many side rooms.

theThe hypostyle (columned) hall is 18 m long and 16.7 m wide. It has 8 giant columns, on which is a deified Ramses, associated with the god Osiris.

The hall opens onto a transverse vestibule. In the middle of the vestibule is the entrance to the sanctuary. On the black wall are carved four figures: Ra Harakhuthi, the deified Ramses, the gods Amun and Pta.

 It is believed that the ancient architects designed the axis of the temple so that on 22 October and 22 February the sunlight would enter the temple and illuminate the sculptures on the back wall, except for Pta, the lord of the underworld, who was always in darkness. On those days, many wives gather. These days are believed to be the pharaoh's birthday and coronation respectively, but there is no direct evidence. The walls are inscribed with bas-reliefs and frescoes of gods and goddesses. As I try to read the scenes, I get a priceless feeling that the historical sources I once read seem to come alive in the walls. Sacrifices, offerings, musical instruments, cartouches... fragments. I am trying to immortalise a few.

I could spend hours here, but it is essential to visit the nearby shrine dedicated to Hathor and his wife Nefertari, also known as the Little Temple of Abu Simbel. The latter was built about 100 metres northeast of the temple of Ramesses II and is dedicated to the goddess Hathor and to Nefertari, the beloved wife of Ramesses II. This is the second time in Egyptian history that a temple has been dedicated to a queen. The first was when Pharaoh Akhenaten built a temple for his wife Nefertiti.

The rock-cut façade is decorated with two large statues separated by an entrance. The statues of the pharaoh and his wife are just over 10 m high. There are 2 statues of the pharaoh on either side of the portal. One with a white Upper Egyptian crown, the other with a double crown. On their sides are statues of the queen.

On the left side of the temple is the god Seth and on the right Horus blessing Ramesses II. This is one of the few examples in Egyptian art where the statues of a pharaoh and his wife are of equal size. Usually, statues of queens were placed next to the pharaoh, but only reached his knees. As in the Great Temple, there are small statues of children. After visiting both temples, the phone runs out of battery power, and there is no way to get a photo of the façade together. I sit down in the amphitheatre and, as if I am taking a picture with my eyes, I get an indescribable feeling of grandeur, I know for sure that I will come back here again, maybe for a day or/and more, possibly for an evening laser show, because the illuminated temples are supposed to shine even more.

If you asked me if I would recommend coming to the Abu Simbel temple complex, I would ask if you like the history? If the answer is yes, I would unequivocally say yes. Of course, the journey is not easy, taking about 7 hours each way, the cost of the trip is correspondingly higher due to the permits required, the security escorts, the checkpoints, the transport services, the private guide, but the sights and the experiences will be unforgettable for decades to come. There is a reason why Abu Simbel is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as a Nubian monument. And it is one of Egypt's most visited tourist destinations in the Aswan region.

If you too would like to see the Abu Simbel Temple, I would recommend a tailor-made 2-day tour including the beauties of the city of Aswan, the attractions and the Abu Simbel Temples. You can organise it from the Hurghada or Marsa Alam regions and see these beauties, historical heritages and the southern city of Aswan, marked by its colours, smells, felicities and the Nile, for yourself. Alternatively, if you are in Aswan or have booked a Nile cruise, you can organise an excursion to Abu Simbel for 1 day.