Aswan city.

Aswan was good to us.
Above you can see the Nile view we had from the hotel's roof garden. It was pretty breathtaking the first time.

The city is a lot different than other places in Egypt (like Cairo and Luxor): it's not crowded, less hassle from the locals... a quiet place where we could relax after the busy Cairo. We even made some new acquaintances while staying here: a couple from Japan, a guy from Argentina and a really nice couple from Holland - doing a trip to South Africa.
The trip to Abu Simbel was totally worth it, even though we had to get up at 3am and leave with the military convoy.

Time is short today, so we'll take care of the luggage and just let you enjoy some of the photos we took:
Aswan:

http://picasaweb.google.com/IonRazvanCiuca/Aswan?feat=directlink
Abu Simbel & Philae temples:

http://picasaweb.google.com/IonRazvanCiuca/AbuSimbelPhilaeTemples?feat=directlink

Aswan - update.

We arrived safely in Aswan, one of the southest touristic spots in Egypt.

There should be a funny sign here, something like: "Welcome to Hell - here you have the chance to slowly roast at 40 degrees Celsius" :)
It's hot and impossible to stay outside between 1:00 - 17:30..
(update: the locals are funny, they often say: "welcome to Alaska" :), so no need for any special sign)

We were lucky enough to find a budget hotel with air conditioning, wi-fi and a roof garden with a nice Nile view and a small pool.
More about Aswan tomorrow. Right now we just wanted to let everyone know that tomorrow we'll be traveling to Abu Simbel - 3 hours through the desert - accompanied by military convoy :|

So, wish us luck in returning safely. OR, if you have some old grudge with either of us, now is your time to pray to Allah so that he will send Bedouins to kidnap us :)
Ovidiu, do you need me to give you the direction of Mecca? :p