Ozymandias' Last Daffodil

There they were, just a couple of globe-trotting tourists, checking out Egypt's ancient antiquities, when they stumbled across this, the much lesser known Daffodil Temple at Abu Simbel.

The temple is tiny and out of the way. Most tourists have never heard of it. (That's why it's not too crowded.) It was only rediscovered in the late 1960s, when the main temples at Abu Simbel were moved to higher ground to escape flooding from the Nile River.

Ancient artisans crafted the Daffodil Temple so that it exactly resembles a daffodil in full bloom. It is positioned such that on two days of the year, the rays of the sun enter the flower and fully illuminate the deeper portions of the bloom. It is said that anyone entering the temple on one of those special days must wear sunglasses, lest they be blinded, as the yellow color is so bright! Like many of the other ancient symbols of rebirth, the yellow daffodil represents the spring that always follows winter. A sign of hope.

Astute historians may note that daffodils are not native to ancient Egypt. Pharaoh Ramesses II, or Ramesses the Great (also referred to in Greek as Ozymandias), is purported to have brought back to Egypt daffodils acquired during his Nubian campaigns. They were a particular favorite of Nefertiri, one of his eight wives.

Intricate daffodil designs were engraved into many of the monuments created during his reign. The lotus, the papyrus, the daffodil: in some images, they appear to have been woven together.

The monuments were brightly painted, and the golden yellow of the daffodil stood out like the rays of the sun. However, his successors considered the non-native flower a blasphemous addition to the temples, and they removed all traces of that symbol after his death; only the lotus and the papyrus symbols remain. Except for this one: Ozymandias' last daffodil.

In this scene, our brave crittergators begin to explore the ancient temple. It is so tiny that only one can enter at a time. Little Red Shirt is the intrepid soul who volunteers to go first. A tiny sneeze! My, that pollen seems remarkably lifelike!

And after this? A wonderful cruise down the Nile, side trips to Luxor and Karnak, and don't miss the Valley of the Kings! Another side trip to the Pyramids at Giza, followed by a few days of sight-seeing in Cairo. Then the flight home. A true Egyptian adventure! And it all started here . . .

A song to accompany this scene: The Cranberries, Daffodil Lament.

Special Note of Thanks: A special shout-out to my friend JCH4K, whose comments inspired this whimsical blip. :-)

P.S. While many of the basic points above are true, the author/photographer admits to unleashing her imagination a bit to round out the details of what might have ended up as a perfectly accurate but drearily truthful and colorless historic account of things. And we wouldn't want that, now, would we? :-)