Exploring Egypt: Journey to Abu Simbel, Philae, and Edfu Temples

We are zooming along the eastern desert road, heading from Aswan to the Abyssinbel. Abyssinbel was made for Ramses II, also known as Ramses the Great, 3,300 years ago. But in the 1960s, Abyssinbel was in big trouble because of new Aswan Heighten. Many countries teamed up to save this amazing site, making the first international effort to protect our history after the devastation of World War II. If you list the great leaders throughout human history, Alexander the Great, Cyprus the Great, Genghis Khan, and others, the oldest and most significant is Ramses the Great. Abyssinbel is a living proof of this. Abyssinbel has two temples. The great one is dedicated to Ramses II, and the charming smaller one honors his queen, Naftali. We are face to face with the monumental statues of Ramses II. Standing before them, it is clear why he earned the title Ramses the Great. We are heading inside the temple with the sun shining directly behind us, revealing many small statues of Ramses. The walls are covered with detailed murals and hieroglyphics that tell the stories of Ramses II's epic victories and his divine nature. Finally, we reach the innermost sanctuary, where you can see four statues of Ramses, Ta, Amun, and Ra. On special days twice a year, the sun shines directly into the sanctuary, illuminating everything except the shadowy figure of Ta, the underground world god. Beside the great temple, there is a smaller temple honoring the queen, Naftali. This little temple at Abyssinbel is for Queen Naftali, the much-loved wife of Ramses II. It's special because it's one of the few temples in ancient Egypt for a queen. Naftali is shown the same size as Ramses, showing how important and respected she was. In the sanctuary of the smaller temple, you can see the goddess Hepha, which means the queen Naftali was seen as an incarnation of Hepha. Now we need to cross the western desert road again to get to the Nubzul. Yes, this is part of the Sahara Desert, which is so huge, it goes across many countries. This is a brand-new morning. We are heading to the Falai Temple. Falai is a unique temple located on an island, so you have to take a ferry to reach it. Before taking a boat, you need to negotiate the price. I was with a local tourist who helped us get a good deal. That's a big saver. The boatman gave us the 90 minutes to finish the tour and said he would come back to pick us up after that time. Now from the boat, I can see the entire temple on the small island. The Falai Temple complex, dedicated to the goddess Isis, is also called the Temple of Isis. The first pylon has a gateway wall, which serves as the main entrance to the temple. On the gateway wall, we can see the relics of Hepha, Isis, and Phoros. The pharaoh is shown taking down the enemy with a weapon. Now we are moving to the second pylon. Here the pharaoh is offering to Isis and Phoros to celebrate the victory. This Falai Temple to ancient Egypt is like Saint Mary Church to Christianity. Isis is the divine mother of all pharaohs, just as Saint Mary is to Christians. Going deeper inside, you can see the sanctuary with the small offering tables. Only priests were allowed to enter this sanctuary. Let's move outside the temple to Trojan's keyhole. Now you can see Trojan's kiosk. The kiosk is named after the Roman emperor Trojan. Trojan's kiosk was likely used as a shelter for the ceremonial boat of goddess Isis. This structure shows the blend of Roman and Egyptian styles. That's all for the Temple of Isis. Our time is up and the boatman is waiting to pick us up. Now we are heading to the Adepo Temple to see the falcon god. Adepo Temple is dedicated to Phoros, the son of Isis. Adepo Temple was buried under the sun for around 2000 years until the 19th century. Thanks to how complete and well-preserved it is, it is the best example of Ptolemaic Temple building in Egypt. Phoros has a story a lot like Shakespeare's Hamlet. As the son of Osiris and Isis, Phoros sets out to avenge his father's murder by his uncle Seth. In the Hamlet, the prince wants revenge against his uncle Claudius for killing his dad and taking the throne. Unlike Hamlet's tragic end, Phoros wins and rules forever. But the Temple of Phoros was buried under the sun for 2000 years and forgotten. By the time it was found again, new religions had taken over and Phoros, once a powerful god, was mostly forgotten. But here stands the Temple of Edep, symbolizing the struggle between Phoros and Seth. A central theme in Egyptian mythology representing the triumph of good over evil. Deep inside the temple, there is a sanctuary where you will find Phoros' battleship that he used to fight his uncle Seth. Now we are the outside of Edep Temple and heading to Cairo. This is the end of our story for Absinthe, Firelight and Edep Temples. Thank you for watching the video. See you in the next episode.