Day Four

Day four actually started at midnight, when we got in a van to join a convoy of cars and buses all heading down south to Abu Simbel for the bi-annual sun festival. The temples are an amazing sight dedicated to Rameses II and his wife Nefertari. On February 22 and October 22, the first rays of sunrise illuminate the god of darkness deep within the temple of Rameses. To celebrate this event, we arrived at 4 AM and listened to Egyptian music and saw traditional dancers. Hannah and I were even interviewed by an Egyptian news channel. The sight of the sun rising over Lake Nasser and illuminating the temples was truly once in a lifetime.

We tried to get some sleep on the drive back, then our agent and our guide took us on a boat tour on the Nile to see the Elephantine island and the Nubian villages. It was great to see the giant sails of the feluccas against the sand dunes on the banks. From there, we were on the train up to Luxor...