This year we travelled south to Aswan, visiting Philae Island and taking a felucca boat ride on the Nile, before travelling from Aswan to Abu Simbel in the southern most part of Egypt. We stayed overnight in Aswan, and took an overnight convoy down to the temple at Abu Simbel.
This year we visited Abu Simbel on the 22nd of October, a very special date in the Egyptian calendar. On this date, the rising sun shines on the deities at the back of the temple, taking 24 minutes to pass over the four imposing figures. Here we are, dancing with the Nubian dancers once the sun had come up.
Hundreds of people visit Abu Simbel on this date, and we were very lucky to get seats right next to the temple doors at the moment the sun rose out of Lake Nasser.
Philae Island - home to the Temple of Isis. The cult of the goddess Isis endured longer than any other in ancient Egypt, and she is much in evidence all around the Temple complex. Again, powerful energies are to be picked up here - our guide will take us to the energy hotspots so we can tune in.
This beautiful, tranquil island is reached by boat, which lands at an ancient quayside.
There are magnificent colonnades, chapels and temples, and the wall reliefs are stunning. And for us intrepid explorers, when we need to re-fuel, there is a nice little coffee shop set in the shade of the trees.
Felucca boat ride - What trip to the Nile would be complete without a chance to sail on it? So peaceful, you almost slip into a trance.
This year we visited Abu Simbel on the 22nd of October, a very special date in the Egyptian calendar. On this date, the rising sun shines on the deities at the back of the temple, taking 24 minutes to pass over the four imposing figures. Here we are, dancing with the Nubian dancers once the sun had come up.
Hundreds of people visit Abu Simbel on this date, and we were very lucky to get seats right next to the temple doors at the moment the sun rose out of Lake Nasser. 
Philae Island - home to the Temple of Isis. The cult of the goddess Isis endured longer than any other in ancient Egypt, and she is much in evidence all around the Temple complex. Again, powerful energies are to be picked up here - our guide will take us to the energy hotspots so we can tune in.
This beautiful, tranquil island is reached by boat, which lands at an ancient quayside.
There are magnificent colonnades, chapels and temples, and the wall reliefs are stunning. And for us intrepid explorers, when we need to re-fuel, there is a nice little coffee shop set in the shade of the trees.
Felucca boat ride - What trip to the Nile would be complete without a chance to sail on it? So peaceful, you almost slip into a trance.