Abu Simbel: Temples, How to Get There and Travel Destination
Accommodation in Abu Simbel
If you are looking for hotels for a trip to Abu Simbel, the destination itself is the most important point of reference. Abu Simbel Airport is located in the town of Abu Simbel in Aswan Governorate and serves as an important gateway for travelers to the Abu Simbel temples and other destinations in southern Egypt.
Getting to and Finding Your Way Around Abu Simbel
The airport was established in 1969 to make it easier for tourists and other visitors to get there. Its location in the town and its purpose give Abu Simbel a clear role as a destination for visitors to the temples and other places in southern Egypt. The year it was established adds a historical aspect to this context: making travel easier was explicitly one of the airport’s goals from the outset. For your specific travel plans, check flight connections for your desired travel dates.
Sun Alignment Celebrations
If you would like to plan your trip around the sun alignment celebrations, timing is important. In 2019, the celebrations concluded with a joint artistic performance at the Temple of King Ramses II in Abu Simbel. This description refers to the 2019 program; program details may change. Therefore, check the current dates and program before planning your stay around this event. This helps distinguish the general choice of Abu Simbel as a destination from planning a visit for a specific event date.
Aswan as a Broader Travel Destination
For a broader cultural context, Aswan is relevant as an overarching travel destination. There, the Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae form a serial World Heritage Site comprising ten components in Aswan Governorate. In the broader destination of Aswan, the Great Temple of Abu Simbel was carved into the living rock by Ramses II around 1264 BC. The description of this temple draws attention to its creation in the rock.
Philae is also part of the broader travel destination of Aswan. The main temple of Philae was begun by Ptolemy II Philadelphus and dedicated to the goddess Isis. During the UNESCO Nubia Campaign in the 1960s, the monuments of Philae were moved to Agilkia Island to protect them from flooding caused by the Aswan High Dam. Thus, different aspects sit side by side in the regional context: a temple carved into rock and the relocation of monuments for their protection.
Another example in the broader travel destination of Aswan is the Temple of Kalabsha. It was moved from Kalabsha Island to New Kalabsha Island between 1962 and 1963. Its inscriptions are in the Meroitic and Greek languages; the temple sanctuary was used as a church. These details add to the picture of the architectural and use history of the broader travel destination of Aswan.
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Back to the broader travel overview: Al-Wadi Al-Dschadid.
