This temple was first observed by J.L.Burckhardt in the year 1813, while he looked over the mountain and saw this beautiful and unique site. He was about to leave the area via Nile River when he saw this site. These two temples are of Ramesses II and dedicated to Re-Harakhte and to wife, Nefertari and she dedicated to God Hathor. This is the must see site for the tourists. This site requires a trip from the Nile. As the north and south sides of the temple are surrounded by the brick walls which occupies a place between the sandstones, cliffs and the river. It was also cut into the face of the cliff which is a rock cut terrace. It is fixed with the flight of steps which are plane in the middle, which stood a row of hawks and statues of Rames in various forms. There are four seated figures of Ramses. These statues of faces are built at the height of 100 feet and 119 feet wide. There are very eye catchy statues on top of the pylon where baboons are place and spread their hands towards the rising sun. It was said that baboons are helping the sun God Ra to beat the darkness of night which are sacred to worship of rising sun.

There are series of halls and rooms which extends up to 185 feet from the entrance, in the sacred cave, which is located inside the temple. The first hall is 54 feet wide and 58 feet deep which has two rows of osirid and 30 feet statues of Ramses. The north side wears the white crown of Upper Egypt while the south side wears the Double Crown of Lower Egypt. You will see three doors on the west end of the main hall. The side doors leads towards the lateral chambers, the central door faces a room of four square pillars. From this central room there is a doorway and beyond that the statues of Gods Prah, Amun-Ra, Ramses II and Re-Horakhte are located. You can also attend fabulous light show at phile temple, which is scheduled on different days and time.

Reach the temple of Simbel from Aswan

Aswan is the biggest and 3rd largest city of the Upper Egypt, and one of the famous and favorite places of the tourists. Aswan is the major production of aluminum and iron and a stop for cruise boats as most of the Nile cruises pass sail between Aswan and Luxor. Aswan is a very good place for shopping and a huge market of fresh spices. The city came into limelight after the construction of Huge Dam. Aswan mostly consists of Nubians and local tribes of Kenzo. The word Aswan is divided from the ancient Egyptian word Swan, which means the market. It is located on the main trading route between Egypt and southern lands where the trade of gold and ivory was carried at that time. Aswan is also a major source of granite, sandstone and quartzite which were used in construction of monuments around the Egypt. God Khoum was the God of the city in ancient Egypt but later on the Goddess Isis which was treated as Goddess of magic and maternity became the God and people built a temple named Philae for her. Aswan city has a very hot climate throughout the year, as it is located in north towards the tropic of caner. Proper care should be taken like covering the head and frequently drinking of water while visiting Aswan.

Egypt Air is the best option for you if you are planning to fly for Aswan. It has daily flights and takes 70 minutes from Cairo. Aswan airport is the most refined international airport in the Upper Egypt. Aswan airport is located 15km to the south west of the city. If you want to travel by train to Aswan you can reach the Aswan station which is located in the center. The trains run from Cairo or Luxor. These are sleeper trains which reasonable rates.

Lavish Nile cruises are also available for the visitors from Luxor to Aswan. It is the usual cruise and a good option for those who want to enjoy the blue pools, clubs, restaurants, book stores and libraries. A Nile cruise also includes cocktail parties, Nubin shows and belly dancers for the tourists. There are different packages in the Nile Cruise which offer different facilities. You can also enjoy the option of Feluccas a traditional boat which should be taken for several hours to get the original Egyptian Nile experience. Multi day feluccas are also available for the tourists. The cruise business almost closes down in the month of April because of raising water levels of Nile River. Mid October to May is the best time to visit Aswan, when the weather is cool and you will be able to enjoy more sites in this weather. However you can peacefully visit in summer if you are able to beat the heat. Egypt is cheap and affordable, and there is no limit of money for the visitors to bring. Bank receipts are required if you are carrying more than EGP 5000. The present value of Egyptian currency is 6.2 pounds per dollar.  Passport and visa are required for the foreigners expect for some Middle Eastern countries.

Accommodation in Aswan

There are very good hotels in Aswan with highest quality if standards and services. The local people in Aswan city are very helpful and friendly. The Old Cataract Hotel is among the most famous hotels of Aswan and is one of the most expensive hotels today. The famous people and guests from different countries take accommodation in this hotel. The book “Death of the Nile” was written by Agatha Christie while she was in her stay at this hotel.

Places to visit in Aswan

This city is very rich in unique monuments and temples you can visit these sites while your visit to this rich archaeological city.

• The Temple of Edfu
• The Temple of kom Ombo
• Philae Temple
• The Unfinished Obelisk
• The High Dam
• The Tomb Chapels of the Nobles
• The Botanical Island (Eleplantine Island)

Biban el-Muluk is a 500 years old valley in Egypt, it is also known as “Gates of the King”. It is constructed as tombs of kings and powerful nobles of the New Kingdom. It is situated on the west bank of the river Nile across from Thebes within the heart of the Theban Necropolis. The area is consisting of two valleys East valley and West valley. The east valley consists of majority of the royal tombs. The valley became famous for the for the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun and is one of he most famous archaeological sites in the world and in the year 1979 along with the rest of the Theban Necropolis it became the World Heritage. There is a huge focus on the concentrated archaeological and Egypt logical exploration since the end of eighteenth century and people gained more interest and research because of the tombs and burials. It is situated in the Theban hills where the mummies of Egyptian pharaohs were interred. It is the famous area in the ancient Egyptian history which was used by pharaohs to preserve the mummies in limestone. Tutankhamun is the most famous tomb discovered in pristine condition by Howard Carter in 1922. The paintings and treasures are exhibited in the Egyptian Antiquities Museum in Cairo. You can also see the amazing antiquates in the tombs of Valley of the Queens and Valley of the Nodharavi slum factsallbles. Tomb of Queen Nefertari is the most famous tomb she was the wife of Ramses II, this tomb was opened for public in 1995.

The Valley of Queens – Biban el-Harem

It is the place where the wives of the Pharaohs were buried in ancient times. It is also know as Ta-Set Neferu which means the place of Children of the Pharaoh. These tombs were maintained by mortuary priests, to increase nobility these priests use to perform daily rituals. It is located on the west bank of Nile. The kings of the 18th dynasty choose to burry the bodies in rock-cut tombs to avoid the traditional building of pyramids as burial chambers because that was more vulnerable to tomb robbers.

In the year 2006 a new chamber was discovered and in the year 2008 more two more tomb entrances were observed by the researchers. At present the valley is occupied with 63 tombs and chambers which includes simple pit to complex tomb with all over 120 chambers. It is treated as a big place for most of the royal Kings and Queens of the ancient Egypt Kingdom. Egyptian mythology can be seen on these royal decorated tombs which show the beliefs and funerary rituals of the period. Most of the tombs were robbed but the history still can be seen.

The climate of the valley is cool with infrequent violent thunder storms which cause flash floods in the valley. There are at least seven active flood stream beds which lead down into the central area of the valley, therefore the central area has been flooded in the Eighteenth Dynasty and buried several tombs.

Decorations in most of royal tombs are images of religious texts, scenes and images of Amduat (resting in underworld) which shows the journey of sun-god about twelve hours of the night. Earlier they were decorated with the images that show the passage of the tomb’s owner. The old tombs which were not of royal nature were not at all totally decorated.

The Vally of Kings Tourism

Tourism in Egypt mainly starts in the month of May. The tombs in the valley mainly not open for the public. The officials open them occasionally for the purpose of reconstruction. While if you want to visit the KV62 tomb you have to pay extra charges. Visitors have to visit the tomb peacefully and guides are not allowed to give lectures inside the tomb. These precautions are taken to minimize time and photography is not allowed in the tomb. The tourism in the valley got affected because of 1997 massacre of 58 tourists and 4 Egyptians Islamist militants from Al-Gama’a al Islamiyya. Four to five thousand tourists visit the valley in a week. On the other hand when the Nile Cruises pass the number get increase to nine thousand tourists every week. However there will be rise to be expected up to 25,000 by 2015. The West Valley is less in demand of visitors as they open one tomb for the public.

Get the Experience of Cruise with Nile cruises available in three, four or seven nights. You can also get shorter tours between Luxor and Aswan. The longer tours are available from north Egypt to Dendera. It is the usual cruse which is also known as floating hotel and includes swimming pools, clubs, restaurants, and even book stores. You can also enjoy the delightful night shows in the Nile cruise, cocktail parties, Nubin shows, belly dancers and plays are also very pleasing. Nile Cruises can also arrange the abroad feluccas in the traditional Nile sailboat. Most of them are of several hours. While multi day felucca cruises are also available. The Nile River closes down in April because of water levels.

The weather is very cool in mid April and October. The hotels in Egypt are fairly reasonable. There are large hotels in which pre booking is needed in peak months of the year. Accommodation is easy in Egypt and the tour operators also arrange for your accommodation and transport.  The Egyptian pound is the local currency of Egypt which is divided into 100 piaster. It is called as Genaeh in Arabic language. You will find 25 to 50 piaster notes and coins. At present $1 is equal to 6.2 Egyptian Pounds. There is no limit to the currency for the visitors to bring in Egypt, however you must show the bank receipts if you are carrying Egyptian currency and should not exceed to EGP 5000. Passport and Visa are required for foreigners expect from some Middle Eastern countries.