Aswan, Egypt | The Eternal Heartbeat of Abu Simbel

[The Eyes of the Sun God That Never Sleeps for Three Thousand Years] On the ochre cliffs on the west bank of Lake Nasser, the Abu Simbel Temple has been waiting for 33 centuries in a frozen epic posture. Ramses II spent 20 years carving not only the temple, but also a monument dedicated to the sun god Amon and his own eternal theater. In 1960, due to the construction of the Aswan Dam, UNESCO cut and moved the entire temple 200 meters. Now every chisel mark we look up to is a medal of the game between civilization and time. [Exploration Guide] Ticket: 765 Egyptian pounds | Half price with student ID Golden time: Every year on February 22 (Ramesses’ birthday) and October 22 (accession day), the morning light penetrates the 60-meter temple and kisses three of the four stone statues on the altar: Ra/Amon/Ramses III (except Ptah, the god of the underworld) Secret realm gameplay: Go around to the back of the temple, drink a cup of acacia tea in the Nubian village, and watch how the broken gold on the lake reproduces the solar boat flowing on the mural [Eye of Horus carved on stone] The deepest part of the main hall hides the pharaoh’s most secret confession - he built a temple for himself and his beloved wife Nefertari, which is the only queen’s temple of the same standard as the pharaoh in Egyptian history. On the lintel of the small temple on the north side, Nefertari transformed into the goddess Hathor and accepted the blessings of the gods side by side with her husband. The relief makes the moonlight three thousand years ago glow with honey. "When you walk by gently, the wind that steals my breath carries the scent of myrrh" --The love poem written by Ramses II to the queen is still murmured between the columns. The most touching thing is not the four 22-meter-high emperor statues, but the dark inner hall where he always embraces the little queen who has transformed into a goddess, and embraces each other for hundreds of reincarnations in the faded lapis lazuli murals. When the temple was moved, modern people failed to perfectly reproduce the miracle of sunlight after all, and postponed the day of the miracle by one day. Perhaps even the sun is biased, and Ramses' love poem has to be recited for another day and night. When the setting sun plates the colossus with rose gold, please touch the palm prints left by the craftsman 3,200 years ago on the stone wall-it is more vivid than hieroglyphics, and it is the human belief in love and eternity. #Sign up for tripbest July Hotel Test Sleeper