A 5:30am start and a three-hour drive took us to Abu Simbel and the Temples of Ramses II and Queen Nefertari, located south of Aswan along Lake Nasser’s shore. Considered to be among the most famous historic sites in Egypt, after the Giza Pyramids, they were certainly worth the journey! Built in the 13th century BCE by Ancient Egypt’s mightiest pharaoh, Ramses II, these huge rock-cut temples marked the southern boundary of the Egyptian Empire with Nubia, at the peak of its power during the New Kingdom. They were dedicated to the Ancient Egyptian gods Amun, Ra-Horakhty, and Ptah, although also very obviously to Ramses himself! And I have no doubt that the four huge statues of Ramses that guard the doorway were there to convey the power of this Egyptian ruler.
I have to say that, for me, this was a real ‘pinch me’ moment. To be there, stood in front of this incredible temple, that I’d previously only seen in films. You can just FEEL the power. But they are as beautiful as they are mighty, and are actually considered to be the most beautiful of the temples commissioned during the Pharaoh’s reign. Even the land here radiates the universal and cosmic energy of love, being known as the highest land in Egypt, and so closest to the Sun and the stars.
The great Temple of Ramses was built so that the Holy of Holies (200 metres behind the entrance) was perfectly aligned with the sun’s rays on two days out of the year, whereas at all other times this inner sanctuary sits in darkness. Although we were lucky enough to be there for one of the dates of this Solar alignment, 21st February, it was decided against visiting then, to avoid the huge crowds that would have prevented us from seeing the temples properly. And that would have been such a shame, as they are just so incredible.
Ramses became Pharaoh when he was only 25 years old, reigned for 67 years (making him nearly 92 when he died), and from his 60 wives he fathered over 200 children! He was considered a mighty warrior and this likely accounted for the intense masculine energy that was so clearly felt within his temple. For some of the Priestesses this energy was too much and they refrained from entering, although I was among those who did. I actually found it quite tranquil inside, especially with the noise of the birds chirping and, once again, I was in awe of the magnitude and grandeur within.
Next we visited Nefertari’s beautiful temple, located at the same site, which was actually the main one we’d gone to visit. Nefertari, considered to have been the favourite wife of Ramses, was honoured with this elaborate temple, dedicated to the Goddess Hathor.
It was clear just how much Ramses respected Nefertari as his equal, by having two huge statues of her at the entrance, alongside four of his own of the same size. We were told this was very unusual, as was the fact that Queen Nefertari was honoured with her own Cartouche, an oval-shaped nameplate with a horizontal bar at the bottom. Not even Isis has her name appearing in a cartouche, although some Queens did, like Cleopatra and Hatshepsut. Sadly, Nefertari was only 39 years old when she died and she has the most beautiful tomb in the Valley of the Queens, but more on this later …
Nefertari (who we believe to be an incarnation of Quan Yin), was flanked by Isis and Hathor in some of the images on the temple walls. She worked closely with Hathor to create powerful Stargate portals, to activate the grid lines of Earth.
I felt the energy quite intensely in Nefertari’s Temple, so much so that it gave me a headache, and my hands were tingling like crazy. I’d noticed this, especially at the entrance to the end chamber (the Holy of Holies), and once again felt as though I was being downloaded with light codes. We’d been warned that a huge energy shift would be felt here and it was very obviously the case. Just by visiting this temple we received the essence and energy of the Holy Union Codes from Quan Yin and Hathor, and the codes of the Syrian Stargate temples, with the Syrian White & Red Rose. It was incredible!
Similar to Philae Temple, the Abu Simbel Temples are not on their original site. They were also under threat of being lost forever with the construction of the Aswan Dam, although fortunately for us, were marked a UNESCO World Heritage Site. And, as with Philae Temple, they were painstakingly dismantled and relocated, a mammoth task that took six years to complete. Again, from an energetic perspective this is likely to have had an effect, being as these monuments were aligned so strategically, but they clearly needed to be preserved. And, to be honest, there was no doubt about the incredibly powerful energy there – we all felt it.
I don’t think any of us really wanted to leave, but we had a long journey back to our hotel. We did enjoy a delicious Nubian lunch first though, of humus, tahini and tagine! And then, we were able to make another stop en route, which allowed us to buy some beautiful Andora Glass. I chose a small red piece, that I knew would be just perfect for my Mary Magdalene altar.
Despite feeling exhausted after my busy day, I was too tired to sleep and chose to meditate and journal. Once again I tried to process all that had happened, but it still seemed so surreal. All I could do was surrender, again, and trust that all would be integrated in divine and perfect timing, and for the highest and best of all.
To be continued …