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08:30 AM
Monday Picking Up at 8.30 AM, Meeting at your hotel before going to the boat. Welcome and installation in cabin. Beginning of the sailing towards the island of Korh Ingi.
Visit of the temple of Kalabsha built on the Greco-Roman model with regular columns and composite capitals. The walls are covered by low-relief carvings and numerous hieroglyphic texts. The important god Mandulis is depicted as a falcon-headed man, the god Horus, son of Isis and Osiris.
The kiosk of Qertassi is part of the remains of an ancient tiny temple dedicated to Isis. It is probably contemporary with Trajan’s kiosk at Philae. Trajan was Roman emperor from 98 to 117 AD. Only four columns with composite capitals and two Hathor pillars remain. Today, at the top of a small hill, we can see it as it was on its original location.
North of the channel of Kalabsha, the small temple of Beit el-Wali was built at the time of Ramesses Il. The entrance flanked by two towers, leads to a courtyard then to a vestibule and a rock-cut sanctuary.
Halfway, during the sailing, you will stop at Ekhtesara, a site where the ancient gates of Kalabsha are. You will resume the sailing to berth on the west bank at Garf Hussein in the evening.
Tuesday – Breakfast and sailing. Site of Wadi el-Sebuoa. Special visit of its jewels saved from the waters. Accompanied by our guide, you will walk from one temple to the other between the lake and the desert to reach the temple of Dakka and admire the view.
The temple of Wadi el-Sebuoa erected between the year 35 and the year 50 in the reign of Ramesses Il is the third hemi-speos built by the pharaoh in Nubia. The temple of Amon ‘ The temple of Ramesses beloved of Amon in the Domain of Amon ‘ was used as a quay or resting place for the sacred boat during its descent of the Nile. The Arabs, inspired by the stone sphinxes with the body of a lion that guarded the central passageway baptized the place as Wadi el-Sebuoa, the valley of the lions.
The temple of Maharraqa : This Roman-built shrine or chapel is uncompleted. It was dedicated to the god Serapis and the goddess Isis. Serapis is a Greco-Alexandrian god whose cult was instituted at the end of the fourth century BC. Possessing attributes from Osiris and Zeus, he allows the syncretism (union) between Egyptian and Greek religions. The Egyptian goddess Isis is Serapis’s consort. Their son is named Harpocrates.
The temple of Dakka : This temple was dedicated to Thoth, divine intelligence, the master of sciences ( time and
exactitude ) and the Lord of letters. This ‘ divine house ‘ is turned towards the north. These orientations as well as the low-reliefs of ‘the Distant ‘are a reference to the flooding and the power of the rising waters which are expected in Egypt.
Back on board and sailing. Tea time will be served on the beach ! Overnight at Wadi el Arab
Wednesday – Sailing at breakfast. Visit of the site of Amada, its temple, the temple of Derr and the tomb of Pennut. The visit of the site of Amada is rich by the discovery of its temple relocated in a single block at construction of the dam. Our guide will give all the explanations about the technique used. The clients will be able to recreate the miracle of Abu Simbel in the ‘ little Abu ‘ the small shrine of the temple of Derr. At the end of the visit, the clients will enjoy a traditional Nubian coffee ritual.
The temple of Amada : This building, dedicated to Amon and Re-Horakhty was constructed under Thutmose Ill and his son Amenhotep Il ( sanctuary and vestibule ). Thutmose IV ordered to build the hypostyle hall and Seti I the pylon. The latter and his son Ramesses Il made some restoration work and decorations. The temple-speos of Derr ( originally on the east bank ) : This 33-metre speos, built under Ramesses Il in the second half of his reign, was dedicated to Amon-Re. Its plan and its direction are identical to those of Abu Simbel, except its monumental aspect and the four colossi. In the sanctuary, we can notice the same gods seated in the niche: Re-Horakhty, deified Ramesses Amon-Re and Ptah.
The funeral chapel of the viceroy of Nubia, Pennut : Royal son of Kush under Ramesses VI ( twentieth dynasty ), Pennut who chose to be buried in Aniba, on the west bank facing Qasr Ibrim. His tomb comprises one room only.
You will have time for a well deserved swim! Then you will be back on board for sailing.
Stopover near the ruins of Qasr Ibrim fortress. This walled city lay on the plateau of a sandstone massif on the eastern bank of the Nile at a height of about 80 meters. It overlooked the plain of Aniba (on the western bank) and its administrative center, the residence of the viceroys of Nubia under Egyptian domination. Today, the flood waters of the High Dam wiped out a height of about sixty meters and Qasr Ibrim is no longer the stronghold of ancient times. 240 km from Aswan and 50 km from the Sudanese border, Qasr Ibrim imposed itself in Lower Nubia for over three millennia. We will resume the sailing and stop for the night at Toshka.
Thursday – Sailing in the morning and stopover at Toshka island for a barbecue on the beach. At around 3 pm visit of the temple of Abu Simbel.
Champollion said: ‘ This great temple is worth alone going to Nubia. ‘That comment perfectly sums up the splendor of the site. The clients can learn how the temples were saved. Our guide will explain the story and powers of Ramesses Il which cannot leave anyone indifferent before the greatness of this wonder.
The great temple of Abu Simbel is a hemi-speos situated at Abu Simbel in Egypt. It is dedicated to the cult of Amon, Re, Ptah, and Ramesses Il the deified. It was carved in the rock for the most part, and so was the façade with four colossal statues of Ramesses Il seated along with other statues, bas reliefs and friezes. The parts that are not carved in the rock are a peribolos and a pylon constructed of bricks, bricks made with the silt from the Nile. Originally carved out of the hill of Meha in Nubia it was relocated with the small temple at the top of the ancestral cliff saving it from the flood waters of Lake
Nasser caused by the construction of the Aswan High Dam in the 60s. In order to restore the original site, the temple was covered with an artificial and hollow hill. Overnight at Abu Simbel. Attending a sound and light show about the temple is optional.
Friday – Check-out after breakfast, return to Aswan