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abusimbel: where the sand feels like a bad memory

@Sebastian Blair3/3/2026blog

i woke up to the sound of wind howling through the ruins. it's been a weird day. the temperature is 14.7 and it's like the air is trying to steal your soul. i just checked and it's...there right now, hope you like that kind of thing. the humidity is 25% which is fine if you're not sweating like a sinner in a sauna. the pressure is 1022 and i don't know why that matters but it's probably why the locals are all breathing in slow circles.

last night i overheard two guys arguing about whether the closest cafe serves actual coffee or just liquid regret. one of them said "i heard that the owner once tried to brew it with desert spice and it tasted like regret" but i don't know if that's true. maybe it is. maybe it's not. who knows. i'm just here drinking weak tea and wondering why my socks are now fused to my feet.

the neighbors are...well, the nearest town is a 45-minute drive and full of people who know all the local secrets. one of them told me that the guy who owns the bar next to the ruins has a collection of broken compasses. i didn't believe him until i saw a rusty one hanging from his fridge. it's probably just a prop but maybe not. you never know.

i heard that the underground tunnels here are haunted. someone told me that if you go deep enough you'll find a room with a mirror that shows you your worst fear. i didn't check. i don't do that. if you get bored, [city names] are just a short drive away but i don't think i want to leave. this place has this weird, quiet energy. like it's waiting for something.

someone else said that the best way to explore is to get lost. they mentioned a marked path on the side of the map that leads to a hidden oasis. i tried following it but ended up in a field of dead cacti. that's not great. maybe i should've listened to the guy at yelp who said "don't trust anyone wearing a hat" but i did and now i have a hat shaped like a question mark.

i found this place thanks to a review on tripadvisor that was 90% emojis and one sentence about "the sand being really nice." i also saw a post on yelp from a woman who said she got lost and found a underground drum circle. she didn't specify if it was real or a hallucination but i'm assuming it was real because she was clearly drunk.

i took a photo of a smokestack at night. it looked like it was built by someone who hated life. the image is [unsplash link] with a description of "a smokestack is shown against a dark background." another photo is of a person vaping in a dark room. it's not clear if they're happy or just trying to blend in. the third image is a black and gray concrete building during night time. it's probably a ruin but who knows.

i linked to [tripadvisor.com] because everyone does. also [yelp.com] for the hat guy. and [localboards.org] because i'm sure there's something there. if you want to see more photos, check out the unsplash search for [city name].

the weather is weird. it's 14.7 degrees but feels like 12.88. i don't know what that means. maybe it's just the wind. or maybe it's the fact that i'm sitting in a place that feels like it's been abandoned for centuries. the neighbors aren't noisy. they're just...there. like silent ghosts. or maybe they're just really good at not talking. either way, it's peaceful in a way that's hard to describe.

i'm not sure if this place is real or if i'm just making it up. maybe both. i'll leave you with this: if you're thinking of coming here, pack a hat, a bottle of water, and a willingness to question everything. the sand is hot. the air is dry. and the rumors are everywhere. but hey, that's what makes it worth it.

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About the author: Sebastian Blair

Writing with intent and a dash of humor.

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