Love works in funny ways. In 1632, Shah Jahan had the Taj Mahal made for his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. However, an age ago, in 1244 BC, King Ramses II had the temple of Abu Simbel made for him and his favourite wife, Nefertari. Both monumental in their appearance, eccentric in their creation, tributes to love. For thirty years workers toiled on carving the great temple of Abu Simbel while legend has it that Shah Jahan had the hands of his architect cut off after the Taj was built so that such beauty could never again be replicated. Yes, love works in funny ways.
It’s about 3am as we hurry into the van to drive the three hundred miles to Abu Simbel in southern Egypt. In the thick fog of sleep, the sodium vapour city lights of Aswan burn without grabbing my attention. The seats are comfortable and all my body wants to do is snuggle up in the cosy warmth of the seat and sleep the elastic hours away. But my mind, that’s another story. Quick and alert stimulated by anticipation, it keeps me awake. Within ten minutes the convoy of buses and vans has broken the perimeter of the city and we’re heading for the thick sandy desert of Hollywood’s Egypt. The world outside the window becomes alien as the pregnant bumps of sand dunes break the flat monotony of the horizon. With not a light in sight, now is when the stars show their value. A million clustered constellations caught in the web of the deep night. Each star cosmically spit shined to perfection.
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