Well, it was worth it, both the effort and the extra cost, for Abu Simbel comes very very close to Karnak among the dramatic and marvellous sights which I beheld in Ancient Egypt. In total darkness we were driven to the airport in Aswan (which, as afore-mentioned, is far superior to the dump at Luxor) and loaded into a nice little aircraft (two seats each side of the aisle) belonging to a firm called Scorpio Aviation. Its emblem of a scorpion decorated the tail of the plane. As we were all rather bleary-eyed and there was nothing to see anyway, we either dozed or else consumed some of the packed breakfast provided by the Commodore. During the trip I joined up with three ladies from Gloucester, whom I had got to know on the crossing to Philae. I was sitting on the plane next to Betty, who is only 79 and is obviously game to go anywhere. She told me that her two daughters Lexie and Trish (who were in the seats behind us) arrange the holidays, then tell her where they are all going. Betty just pays up and goes along. May she long continue to do so!

The reason for our travelling at such a hideous hour became apparent once we were at our destination. Abu Simbel lies about 150 miles south of Aswan, on the western side of Lake Nasser. It is only about forty miles from the Sudanese border, which gave me a creepy feeling when I learned it, for famine and warfare are loose in that land. The site of these monuments put up at the command of the Pharaoh Rameses II (owner of one of the most monstrous egos in history) was also in danger of being engulfed by the rising waters of Lake Nasser but like Philae it was saved, being moved to higher ground in an amazing operation. One must hand it to the engineers of our own times - even Rameses would have been impressed.

The bus from the airport approached Abu Simbel from the rear of the two artificial hills which have been built to contain its temples. Their outlines were discernible by the late light of the moon and the early light of the day. Once off the bus, down a path and round a corner to the left we veered - and at that moment the first rays of the sun peeped above the eastern rim of Lake Nasser. Swing further to the left immediately, turn your back on the rising sun - and you see before you the four colossal statues of Rameses which guard the entry to the temple dedicated to Amen-Ra and other gods, the grey - white sand tinged pink by the Sun God himself. While his beams colour the incredible facade, the moon still shines, hanging above the temple mounds.

There are two temples, one in each mound. The second and slightly smaller one (to the right of the first as you face them) is consecrated to the goddess Hathor and honours Queen Nefertari, favourite wife of Pharaoh Rameses II. Her coronation is depicted within. The guardian statues at the entrances are just the beginning, for both temples have even more to offer inside than out. They are excavated far into the mounds and as usual with Egyptian temples (we were now learning to expect it), the halls, corridors, pillars and chambers, all of spacious dimensions, were covered everywhere with wonderful works of art which have endured for 3000 years or more.

I went into the temples, took a look at the wide expanse of Lake Nasser, then let it all sink in while I treated myself to a brief rest on a bench near some thorny trees among the branches of which a number of little birds (possibly sparrows) were bouncing and twittering. I feel sad that in England there are now fewer little birds than there used to be, so it was a pleasure to listen to these. Indeed, it is a joy to report that the land of Egypt, which is athwart some of the migration routes, can still boasts thriving population of all sorts of birds. A booklet on the Common Birds of Egypt was for sale in the Commodore gift shop, and I bought one before the cruise ended.

Our stay was then over, so it was back to Aswan by bus, plane and bus. We had had an unforgettable day, or so it felt, yet when we arrived back at the Nile Commodore, it was only 9.30 a.m.! There was a great deal more of the day to come, most of it spent in repose on the sundeck, but not all of it. We had two more temples to inspect before our voyage was over.

After everyone (including shift No. 2 from Abu Simbel) had made their way back to our floating home, the Commodo reset sail. We were moving downstream now, away from inner Africa and the change of direction felt not only confusing but somewhat anti-climactic, as the second part of a holiday often does.

Nevertheless the lazy post-lunch hours aboard our vessel passed pleasantly enough and in the later afternoon we arrived back at the temple of Kom Ombo and moored at the foot of the height on which it stands, along with a couple of other cruise-boats which had arrived there ahead of us. As we walked up the slope past a variety of souvenir stalls, the temple was lit up and turned red by the declining sun, but by the time our fairly short tour of it was over, night had fallen and it was electric lights which were illuminating the buildings.

Despite a few remaining vestiges of the 18th dynasty, most of Kom Ombo dates from the Ptolemaic period. It is an unusual temple in that it is allotted to two gods (one represented by the crocodile, the other by the falcon), so everything there is in twos and equal in dimensions, one half of the precinct being a mirror image of the other. It wouldn't do to have an outbreak of divine jealousies, would it?