Abu Simbel - a hit on my bucket list.

Abu Simbel --- the name has fantastic connation’s – the awesome UNESCO inspired move of the whole massive temple in 1964 to save it from the new Aswan Dam; the story of Rameses II; the incredible etchings inside and of course the well known but unbelievable, though true, fact of the axis of the temple not illuminating Ptah’s statue. 

On the map, Abu Simbel is "C". Aswan is "B". 

We boarded our ship the previous evening at Aswan. Our travel itinerary referred to a half day excursion to Abu Simbel and sail by lunchtime. Nobody told us that we would be leaving at 5.00 am (which means wake up at 4.00 am at least!) for the three hour drive to Abu Simbel. As my diary records, I woke at 3.15 am, was ready by 4.00 am; we left shortly after at 4.30 am, reaching Abu Simbel at 7.30 am. The road was basically open desert, well tarred. Little traffic. We were at the site from 7.30 am to 9.30 am and returned back to the ship by 12.50 pm. 

After parking, we have to take a circuitous path which leads through a shopping arcade of pretty mediocre tourist souvenir shops. The path is a curve and you suddenly see in the far distance the two large statues well known thru the years as representing “Abu Simbel”.  It’s a sight which takes your breath away and more so, yet again, when you are standing directly in front of the two huge statues.  During his reign, Rameses II embarked on an extensive building program throughout Egypt and Nubia, which Egypt controlled. Nubia was very important to the Egyptians because it was a source of gold and many other precious trade goods. He therefore built several grand temples there so as to impress upon the Nubians of the Egypt's might and he wanted to Egyptianize the people of Nubia. The most famous temples are the rock-cut temples in Meha, now called Abu Simbel, at the Second Nile Cataract, the border between Lower Nubia and Upper Nubia. 

As we walked up close to the main temple, crowds of tourists were busy taking photographs of these huge statues. The complex consists of two main temples: The Grand Temple that stands 30 meters high and 35 meters long featuring four seated colossi at the entrance of King Rameses II on his throne.  It also contains a number of paths and rooms. Scripts could be found written on the walls about Rameses II military victories, his personal life alongside portrayals of ancient Egyptian gods. The larger one is dedicated to Ra-Harakhty,  Ptah and Amun, Egypt's three state deities of the time and features four large statues of Rameses II in the facade. 

The Small Temple was constructed for the Egyptian Queen Nefertari, Rameses II most favorite wife. Located 150 meters far away from the Grand Temple, the Small Temple has a front featuring four great seated colossi, two of Rameses II and two of Nefertari. The walls of this temple display images of Ramses and Nefertari while they’re praying to the gods. The smaller temple is dedicated to the goddess Hathor, personified by Nefertari, Rameses' most beloved of his many wives. 

The complex was moved and relocated in its entirety in 1968 under the supervision of a Polish archaeologist Kazimierz Michałowski, on an artificial hill made from a domed structure, high above the Aswan High Dam reservoir. The relocation of the temples was necessary or they would have been submerged during the creation of Lake Nasser, the massive artificial water reservoir formed after the building of the Aswan High Dam on the Nile River.

“Four colossal 20 meter statues of the pharaoh with the double Atef crown of Upper and Lower Egypt decorate the facade of the temple, which is 35 meters wide and is topped by a frieze with 22 baboons, worshippers of the sun and flank the entrance. All statues represent Rameses II, seated on a throne and wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. The statue to the left of the entrance was damaged in an earthquake, leaving only the lower part of the statue still intact. The head and torso can still be seen at the statue's feet.  Next to the legs of the colossi, there are other statues no higher than the knees of the pharaoh. These depict Nefertari, Rameses' chief wife, and queen mother Mut-Tuy, his first two sons Amun-her-khepeshef, Rameses, and his first six daughters Bintanath, Baketmut, Nefertari, Meritamen, Nebettawy and Isetnofret.

The entrance itself is crowned by a bas-relief representing two images of the king worshipping the falcon-headed Ra Harakhti, whose statue stands in a large niche. This god is holding the hieroglyph "user" and a feather in his right hand, with Ma'at, (the goddess of truth and justice) in his left; this is nothing less than a gigantic cryptogram for Rameses II's throne name, User-Maat-Re. The facade is topped by a row of 22 baboons, their arms raised in the air, supposedly worshipping the rising sun. Another notable feature of the facade is a stele which records the marriage of Rameses with a daughter of king Hattusili III, which sealed the peace between Egypt and the Hittites”.

Whilst photography is permitted outside, albeit with a ticket, there is a separate ticket for inside photography and the guards are very strict – they prowl all around the inside and check every person taking photos. If illegal, they ensure the photos are deleted. 

“The inner part of the temple has the same triangular layout that most ancient Egyptian temples follow, with rooms decreasing in size from the entrance to the sanctuary. The temple is complex in structure and quite unusual because of its many side chambers. The hypostyle hall is 18 meters long and 16.7 meters wide and is supported by eight huge Osirid pillars depicting the deified Rameses linked to the god Osiris, the god of the Underworld, to indicate the everlasting nature of the pharaoh. The colossal statues along the left-hand wall bear the white crown of Upper Egypt, while those on the opposite side are wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. The bas-reliefs on the walls depict battle scenes in the military campaigns the ruler waged. Much of the sculpture is given to the Battle of Kadesh, on the Orontes river in present-day Syria, in which the Egyptian king fought against the Hittites.  The most famous relief shows the king on his chariot shooting arrows against his fleeing enemies, who are being taken prisoner. Other scenes show Egyptian victories in Libya and Nubia”. 

“From the hypostyle hall, one enters the second pillared hall, which has four pillars decorated with beautiful scenes of offerings to the gods. There are depictions of Rameses and Nefertari with the sacred boats of Amun and Ra-Harakhti. This hall gives access to a transverse vestibule in the middle of which is the entrance to the sanctuary. Here on a black wall are rock cut sculptures of four seated figures: Ra-Horakhty, the deified king Rameses, and the gods Amun Ra and Ptah. Ra-Horakhty, Amun Ra and Ptah were the main divinities in that period and their cult centers were at Heliopolis, Thebes and Memphis respectively”. 

The axis of the temple was positioned by the ancient Egyptian architects in such a way that on October 22 and February 22, the rays of the sun would penetrate the sanctuary and illuminate the sculptures on the back wall, except for the statue of Ptah, a god connected with the underworld who always remained in the dark. People gather at Abu Simbel to witness this remarkable sight, on October 21 and February 21 - dates supposedly being the king's birthday and coronation day respectively. 

I knew about Queen Nefertiti but this was the first time I learnt about Queen Nefertari. 

The Small Temple, built for Queen Nefertari, marks the second time a ruler dedicated a temple to his wife (the first was built by Akhenaten for Nefertiti). It was also the first time that the statue of the wife, Nefertari in this case, was carved the same size as the image of the Pharaoh himself, which is significant in revealing how Rameses II felt about his beloved queen. Usually, the wives statues never measured higher than the Pharaoh’s knees, but Nefertari’s statues was a full 10 meters (32 feet) high.  Nefertari’s temple is also aligned to the east. It is about 28 meters (92 feet) long x 12 meters (40 feet) high. The entrance is marked by six colossal figures. There are four figures of Rameses himself and two of Queen Nefertari. Along with the six colossi stand smaller statues that present Rameses and Nefertari’s children.

Just inside the entrance sits a large hall, supported by six pillars, each carved with the head of Hathor, as well as scenes showing the King and Queen making offerings to various other Egyptian gods. On the inner room’s back wall, reliefs show Nefertari being crowned by Isis and Hathor. 

The interior of the Small Temple is not as complex as the Great Temple. At the end of the large hall there is a doorway, leading to another room decorated with scenes of Rameses II and Nefertari with various gods. Further rooms illustrate similar Egyptian scenes.

On the inside pillars are various scenes - the queen playing the sistrum (an instrument sacred to the goddess Hathor), together with the gods and goddesses; Rameses is presenting flowers or burning incense. The capitals of the pillars bear the face of the goddess Hathor. The bas-reliefs in the pillared hall illustrate the deification of the king, the destruction of his enemies in the north and south (in this scenes the king is accompanied by his wife), and the queen making offerings to the goddess Hathor and Mut. 

We had taken a golf buggy from the entrance to the Grand temple and our buggy driver was very kind in that despite many people waylaying him for a ride, he insisted on taking us back on board which was a blessing as the walk back to the entrance is a long uphill exercise. It had been a great three hours for us. Tiring: Yes. Hot – Yes. But we left with awesome memories of Rameses and the Temple to his Queen. That must have been an incredible period when such carvings were done direct on the rock face without any modern tools. Shows you the ingenuity and intelligence of ancient mankind.     

Finally, two amazing photos -locals throwing shawls way up to the ship’s passengers and then getting their money – thrown back in shawls not wanted. The Chinese tourists were as happy as the felucca guy. Commerce and tourism go hand in hand. 

Text and photographs copyright of the author. No part of this article or photographs maybe transmitted or reproduced by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without written permission. Do contact the author on email -- helpthesun@gmail.com

Tashkent - a city with a wonderful past and well worth exploring its environs

I had been to Tashkent in 1983 and my lasting memory of it was they sold awesome sweet melons! I had brought back 16 of them, as instructed by my wife, and she had thoroughly enjoyed each one of them. Of the city, I recalled nothing so we went with a totally fresh look. As always, I like to spend a minimum of three full days, packed with sightseeing, so we cover all the most important sights and events. In separate blogs, I have written about our excursion to the Chimgan Mts and Charvak reservoir - a Tashkent day trip; A magical evening with the Alisher Navoyi Opera; the Museum of Art - a unique private public gem; and Uzbek weddings - taking a peek into a modern trend. Do read them. So this blog is on the city itself.

We were staying at Hotel Uzbekistan – a massive Soviet style hotel with a zillion rooms!! The service was the pits, the room quality was equally bad but we had no choice as that’s where the group was staying!! But the food was really good in the restaurants. Now, in case you did not know, the currency exchange was different from the regular Govt rate.... which changed by the time we returned to Tashkent for Part 2 of our stay!! So here you have our tour leader giving me a large bucketful of local currency for a few dollars. On 5^th September 2017, it all changed to half the amount. The touts and bellboys were out of business as the hotel officially opened an exchange counter in the hotel.... which had never happened before.

The name Tashkent is derived from the Turkish word "tash" (stone) and the Persian word "kent" (city), meaning "city of stones". Some say the Sogdian word "tschatsch", meaning "place on a hill".  Tashkent is the capital and the most cosmopolitan city in Uzbekistan. It is known for its tree-lined streets, numerous fountains, and pleasant parks.  Since 1991, the city has changed economically, culturally, and architecturally. 

New development has superseded or replaced icons of the Soviet era. The largest statue ever erected for Lenin was replaced with a globe, featuring a geographic map of Uzbekistan. Buildings from the Soviet era have been replaced with new modern buildings. The "Downtown Tashkent" district includes the 22-story NBU Bank building, an Intercontinental Hotel, the International Business Centre, and the Plaza Building. The Tashkent Business district is a special district, established for the development of small, medium and large businesses in Uzbekistan. In 2007, Tashkent was named a "cultural capital of the Islamic world" by Moscow News, as the city has numerous historic mosques and significant Islamic sites, including the Islamic University. 

Due to the destruction of most of the ancient city during the 1917 revolution and, later 1966 earthquake, little remains of Tashkent's traditional architectural heritage. Tashkent is, however, rich in museums and Soviet-era monuments.

This is a one-storey private residence of Nikolai Konstantinovich Romanov, who was a grandson of Emperor Nikolai I, and who was exiled by his royal parents to Tashkent in 1877 to live there until his death in 1918.The Prince Romanov’s residence was built in "modern" style. The elegant building was richly decorated with carved grids, unusually shaped windows, towers and other decorative elements. The duke was a keen hunter and the front entrance to the private residence was decorated with bronze figures of deer and hunting dogs. There was a large garden laid out by the famous Tashkent botanist and pharmacist I.I. Krause. Particular attention was given to the interior design of the palace. The halls of the private residence were lined with dark oak, decorated with carved cornices and golden paintings. From the main hall, the three doors led to the apartments of the prince and his wife. The residence housed a billiard room, library, dining room and a Japanese garden. The Prince was extremely popular in the local community. He opened the first cinema theatre in the city and a bakery, built a ducal soldiers’ suburb in the city’s centre, laid irrigation canals in the Golodny Steppe. During the years spent in Tashkent, he amassed a unique collection of antiques and books, later bequeathed to the city. After his death, the building housed the Museum of Art’s of Uzbekistan, then Museum of Antiques and Jewellery of Uzbekistan, and in Soviet times it was used for the Palace of the Pioneers. At the end of the XX century, the building was restored and is now used as the Reception House of the MFA of Uzbekistan.

Our group walked down from the hotel straight to the park with the large statue of Emir Timur. Then further south, we came across a vendor renting cycles. There was a large art alley with artists painting and lots of artworks on sale. Very few buyers.          On our way to a fine dining restaurant on our last evening, we came across this round monument. I can’t recall what it is but I did like its design and style. 

Independence Square has the most beautiful fountains of the city. Upon declaration of independence in 1991, Lenin Square was re-named Independence Square (Mustakillik Maydoni) in 1992. The monument to Lenin was dismantled and an Independence Monument in a form of a globe with Uzbekistan’s borders outlined on it was installed instead. Many buildings were renovated and acquired a modern look. The central figure of the square is sixteen marble columns joined by a bridge, supporting the sculptures of storks who symbolize peace and quietness. The alleys with green zones and beautiful fountains from both sides stretch from the colonnade to the Independence Monument. Under the monument there is a figure of a woman holding a baby in her arms – a symbol of Mother-Motherland.

Telyashayakh Mosque or Khast Imam Mosque is beautiful. Like other mosques, you have to walk a lot inside to get to your destination! It contains the Uthman Qur'an, considered to be the oldest  Koran in the world. No photos allowed but they permitted me to photograph the caption there. Dating from 655 and stained with the blood of murdered caliph, Uthman, it was brought by Timur to Samarkand, seized by the Russians as a war trophy and taken to St Petersburg and only returned to Uzbekistan in 1924.It is kept in a glass enclosure. It is written on leather and must be about 2 ft per page and about 5” thick if closed ! There are blood stains on the pages as the Caliph was reading it when murdered! The book is rather large and must have been difficult to carry. 

The State Museum of Uzbekistan – we landed up not knowing that we would be in the middle of a major exhibit inauguration! We decided on taking an English speaking guide who was excellent. Halfway through, she made us go downstairs as the Director was going to inaugurate an art exhibit of a leading artist. I met her and the singer who had a voice like a nightingale!!  She invited me to her performance but my family weren’t keen on going !!

This is an outstanding modern museum with excellent captions. There are five floors full of fabulous artworks... not only paintings... you have carved wood, suzani hangings, textiles,  a major collection of art from the pre-Russian period, including Sogdian murals, Buddhist statues and Zoroastrian art, along with a more modern collection of 19th and 20th century applied art. There is the large collection of paintings "borrowed" from the Hermitage by Grand Duke Romanov to decorate his palace in exile in Tashkent, and never returned. Do not miss this museum if you are in Tashkent. 

Tashkent cafes and restaurants have Uzbek as well as European, Middle Eastern and Russian cuisines. Old part of the city is the centre of traditional local cuisine in Tashkent. Between Kukeldash Madrassah and Chorsu bazaar you find a great number of chaykhanas (café terrace with ayvans), cafes and eating houses, where you can snack a kebab, shaurma, Uzbek somsa and etc. Also you can try national dishes in family-run Uzbek houses. Close to the Yunus-Obod tennis court there is the huge Pilaf centre (Osh Markazi), where you taste delicious wedding Tashkent pilaf. You will be surprised with wide range of restaurants with Chinese, Italian, English, Japanese, Spanish, Korean and other cuisine. 

There are two parts to the city – the new and the old. Both are interesting and can occupy your time quite happily. I love the city especially as one can walk quite safely in both parts, with necessary common sense, as always.

Text and photographs copyright of the author. No part of this article or photographs maybe transmitted or reproduced by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without written permission. Do contact the author on email -- helpthesun@gmail.com