We boarded a passenger van for the 3hr drive to Abul Simbel from Aswan at the crack of dawn, so that we’d beat the groups of tourists flying there (and to beat the nearly 120-degree-temperatures). When we arrived, it was immediately obvious why the place is so popular. It’s next to the largest man-made reservoir in the word, Lake Nasser, which was created from the dam there. And just behind the lake lay the temples. Ramses II’s temple and the nearby temple for his favorite wife, Nefertari, were…