Visiting Abu Simbel and Philae temple

Abu Simbel is located in the border between Egypt and Sudan. Mini-buses go only once a day at 3am from Aswan, 230 km away arriving there by 7am and staying until 10am. The police told me the reason they do that is because the border is a critical zone with a few conflicts, so this way increase safety for tourists.

abu-simbel

The entry cost 100 EGP plus 15 for the tourist guide association. Another reason for being early is that the sun shines exactly in front of the temple, allowing great pictures.

abul-simbel-temple

Over there there are two temples side by side but pictures inside are not allowed.

In the afternoon, after heading back to Aswan I went to Philae temple, located in an island nearby the city, it was reconstructed after they found pieces in the ocean. To get there you must pay 100 EGP to the ferry and 60 EGP to access the island.

boat-philae

philae-temple

This temple was constructed by romans that admired the Egyptian culture and religion thoughts. The romans believed they could be closed to God in those temples. The architecture is clearly different than other Egyptian constructions.

philae-temple-roman

The visit to both temples were included in the package I booked with the guide Mostafa, that organized my entire logistics in Egypt.

Mustafa-egypt

He has a page in Facebook and if you do plan to visit Egypt do not hesitate to contact him and tell it was recommendation of Franz Explorer!