Day 12 ~ Luxor

Karak and Luxor temples were our destinations today.

Karnak, situated on 257 acres, is the largest religious building ever built. The ram headed sphinxes flank the entrance Amun-Ra temple, the most important place of worship during the New Kingdom.  The immense size and variety of structures defy description.  Karnak was added to, dismantled, restored, enlarged, and decorated for over nearly 1500 years.

The Giant Scarab is adjacent to the Sacred Lake at Karnak.  It is said that if you walk around the scarab seven times your wish will be granted.  Notice the obelisk in the background.

We returned to Karnak in the evening for the Light and Sound Show. The lighted buildings are reflected in the Sacred Lake.  The misty lights in a distance illuminate the mountain of the Valley of the Kings and Queens. 

We also visited the Luxor Temple also built during the New Kingdom. As with many temples, things were added during Greco-Roman times including this fresco. 

In front of this temple is the Avenue of Sphinxes which runs all the way to Karnak about two miles away.  Some of these sphinxes are still being excavated.  We also fit in a quick visit to the Luxor museum.

Day 11 ~ Esna

Today we visited Esna Temple, dedicated to the Khnum, the god of creation.  It is quite small, as it is the only remaining building out of a group of four. Built between 181 BC and 250 AD by Claudius, this is another Greco-Roman temple. It was discovered in 1843. 

The figure in the center is Khnum in the form of a ram. 

Being buried under the sand helped preserve the colors in this temple.

After the temple, we walked through the streets of Esna and visited a Coptic Church.  We were passengers in this vehicle for our trip back to the boat.  Ten of us were packed inside the camper shell.

As we left Esna, we had to go through the locks.

As usual, there was beautiful scenery as we floated down the Nile.

Once we were back on the boat, we were treated to another delicious Egyptian lunch. This is Ahmed, our waiter extraordinaire.  He is the hardest working, sweetest young man who is most attentive to all our needs.

This is a picture of a Dahabiya (the type of boat we are on) with full sails.  This boat is sailing up the Nile with the wind.  We are going down the Nile against the wind, so we can’t use our sails.  To have the experience of sailing, our captain has reoriented the boat upriver a few times.

There is no motor on our boat, so we are pulled by a tug boat as we make our way down the Nile. 

Day 10 ~ Farm Tour & Edfu

We had a very relaxed morning today.  Most mornings we set sail around 8:00 a.m. with a buffet breakfast being severed from 8:30 – 10:00. 

This morning we saw several small farms along the Nile.  Most looked quite primitive, yet they have electricity and a satellite dish on their roof. 



Our first stop was a small community Egyptian farm. They had groves of mango trees, date palms, fig trees, wheat, and alfalfa as well as farm animals.

They also were making bread during our visit, supervised by this kitty.  There are so many stray dogs and cats throughout Egypt.

 

 

 

Here is our cruise director, Viktor, with one of the old men in the village.


After our tour, our boat captain took Anne, Bonnie and me for a ride on a row boat.

This was followed by a lovely picnic by the beach. Our chef prepared mixed grill on the BBQ.  Yesterday and today, we have had wonderful Egyptian food.

Late this afternoon, we arrived at the Edfu temple.  This Greco-Roman temple built from 50 BC to 200 AD is dedicated to Horace, the god of protection, and the son of Isis and Osiris. Many of the hieroglyphics tell the story of Horace getting revenge for the death of his father by Seth.  It is the best preserved temple in Egypt and the second largest.

This falcon is a representation of Horace.

 

The sanctuary containing the alter is behind the four of us.

Day 9 ~ Kom Ombo Temple

This morning we set sail to Kom Ombo (Valley of Gold) Temple.  In ancient times this area was one of the main sources of gold and an important agricultural center.

 

This Greco-Roman temple was started by Ptolemy around 200 BC and completed around 200 AD.  It is unique because it is dedicated to two different gods, Haroeris an Sobek, the crocodile god.

From left to right we have Isis, Ptolemy, Horace, and his sons, Haroeris and Sobek.  There was such detail you could see the teeth of the crocodile.

Another unique thing found in this temple is the calendar.  It is one of the only calendars found in any temple.  The three large figures on the right represent the 3 seasons of the year.  In the middle are the days of the month, and to the left of the days of the week is information about each day.  In this calendar there are 10 days per week, and 3 weeks per month. 

The image on the far left depicts a child nursing, while the image on the right shows the birth of a child.


Here are the sheeshah sisters. After touring the temple, Mina took us to this restaurant where we all tried the sheeshah.  The sweet apple flavored tobacco was quite good and not at all like cigarettes. 

Here is our fearless captain on the bow of the boat.

 

We got back to our boat around 1:00 and set sail again.  Here we are enjoying another delicious lunch.  While the sun is out, we have perfect temperatures in the mid 70’s.  It is so relaxing out on the upper deck.  We also eat dinner here so we bundle up and they enclose us within the canopy.

Day 8 ~ More Aswan

We were up early and began the remainder of Aswan tour around 7:00 a.m.  Today our first stop was the new Aswan Dam.  This dam was financed by the Russians primarily to helped control the flooding of the Nile down river.

This is a view of Lake Nasser created by the new dam.  It is the largest manmade lake in the world. 

After this quick stop at the dam, we again loaded a small boat for a daytime tour of the Island of Philae.  The temples here are something to behold, and the setting is breathtaking.

Our next stop was the granite quarry and the Unfinished Obelisk. If it had been completed, it would have been the single heaviest piece of stone the Egyptians ever finished.  It was abandoned because of a crack in the stone at the late stage in the process. Before returning to our boat, we stopped at the Nubian Museum.  We departed from Aswan when we set sail during lunch.

Here is our boat, the Sonesta Dahabiya, stopped at a beach along the Nile. Since we are going against the wind right now, we cannot use our sails and are being towed by a tug boat. Every evening we will stop at one of the island on the Nile.  We are sharing our adventure with 10 other guests plus our guide, Mina.  Four of the couple are from the UK.  Another couple is currently living in Germany, but are US citizens.  There are only 8 guest cabins on our vessel, while most Nile cruise boats have at least 70 cabins. 

This is a lounge area towards the back of the boat.  We also dine on this deck, under a center canopy that can be enclosed when it is windy. 

Mina, our tour guide, is only the tour guide for the four of us.  He makes all of the arrangements for our land tours and accompanies us along the way.

A few words about Aswan… The air is so clean here, and the water in this part of the Nile is quite clear.  We have had perfect temperatures, so it is understandable why so many Europeans come to this part of Egypt during the winter.  Sailing this afternoon was surreal.  Here we were dining on the Nile.  There was a gentle breeze, with palms swaying on the sandy beaches.  I can’t believe I’m really here!

Day 7 ~ Abu Simbel & Aswan

We were up by 1:30 this morning to catch our 4:30 flight to Abu Simbel in southern Egypt.  As we approached the airport, we could see The Great Temple of Ramses II built in the mid 1200’s BC.  Our guide whisked us away for a 2 1/2 hour visit to this site before returning us to the airport to fly to Aswan where we met our cruise boat.

When the new Aswan dam was completed in 1971, about 10 of the historic temples would have been under water south of the dam if it weren’t for UNESCO.  The is one of the temples that was moved to a higher elevation just a short distance from its original site. 

Also at this location is the Temple of Hathor containing statues of Nefertari, Ramses II favorite wife.

Shortly after we boarded our cruise ship, we enjoyed a six course lunch, followed by our tour of Aswan.  Mina, our tour guide, took us on a small boat ride to a Nubian village about 45 minutes away.  Ann and Mary Kay braved another camel ride at the village, while Bonnie and I relaxed in a Nubian home.  We shared the living room with two crocodiles, as it is common for each home to have at least one crocodile.  Luckily they were enclosed in the main living area.

The homes are brightly colored, both inside and out, with sand floors. The Nubian population was transplanted into Aswan and other areas in Egypt because the new dam caused all their land to be flooded by Lake Nasser .

When we returned to town, we took a carriage ride around town seeing both the city highlights and the poverty. Children cheerfully ran to our carriage calling to us, “Hello money.”

Following the carriage ride, we again boarded a small boat to the Island of Philae for an early evening lightshow.  Here is the location of the beautiful Greco-Roman Temple to Isis, goddess of magic and love, built in the mid 200’s BC, as well as other temples. This is another site that was relocated by UNESCO because of the dam. Unfortunately by this time we were all so tired, we could barely stay awake.  When I hit the pillow after dinner, I don’t think I have ever fallen asleep so quickly. 

Day 6 ~ Al Muizz li din Allah Street

Dennis and Tommy were our guides today. After a relaxed morning, we headed to Al Muizz li din Allah Street.  This street begins at the Bab al-Futuh (Gate of Conquest) built in 1087 as the northern gate of the old city of Cairo.  There are at least 18 restored historic buildings and museums along this street. Below is a sampling for what we saw:

These children inside the Mosque of al-Hakim were eager to get their picture taken with Bonnie. The little girl in the sweater and knit hat did a great job with her English.  Notice their variety of clothing.

The water pipe (sheeshah) is very common in Cairo.  This street was loaded with shops selling sheeshahs, and just like the U.S., everyone is on their cell phone.

It is more common to see men walking arm-in-arm then men and women.  Many Muslims feel it is inappropriate for there to be any physical contact between the sexes in public. 

This is one of the court yards within the house of Mustaf Ja’far.  This huge home was built in 1713.

The Madrasa and Mausoleum of Sultan Al_Nasir Mohammed ibn Qalawun was built in the late 1200’s and considered to have the best stained glass windows in Egypt.

We ended our day with a traditional vegetarian dinner at one of Tommy’s favorite restaurants, El Tabie el Domiate. Even though this restaurant was casual family dinning, it had solid granite floors and marble walls, both of which are plentiful in Egypt.

Tomorrow we leave Cairo and begin our Nile cruise.  We have had such a wonderful time here, thanks to Dennis and Tommy’s hospitality and the great service from Sakkara tours.

Day 5 ~ Cairo Time

Today we visited a few things that most tourists don’t have the opportunity to see.

We started our day in Coptic Cairo.  The Coptics are one of the oldest Christian communities in the Middle East. During the 4th to 6th centuries Christianity was the majority religion in Egypt until the Muslim conquest. Today Coptic Christians account for an estimated 9-18% of the Egyptian population.

Saint Virgin Mary's Coptic Orthodox Church also known as the Hanging Church is one of the oldest churches in Egypt.  It is called the Hanging Church because it is built above a gatehouse of a Babylon Fortress.  The colored light on the wall is from light shining through the stained glass windows.  We saw this type of stucco stained glass window created at the art center that we visited on Day 3.

The Mosque of Ahmad Ibn Ţūlūn is possibly the oldest mosque in the city surviving in its original form, and is the largest mosque in Cairo in terms of land area. The tall structure in the background is the minaret where they call everyone to prayer, while the structure in the front encloses the fountain where everyone washers before prayer. We had a guard follow us around while we were at this mosque for our own protection because we are Americans.

The Gayer-Anderson Museum is located adjacent to the mosque. The museum takes its name from Major R.G. Gayer-Anderson Pasha, who resided in the house between 1935 and 1942 with special permission from the Egyptian Government. It is noted for being one of the best preserved examples of 17th century domestic architecture left in Cairo, and also for Gayer-Anderson's vast collection of furniture, carpets, curio, and other objects.

We had lunch at Al-Azhar Park.  You can see the Mohamed Ali Mosque that we visited on Day 3 in a distance.   

We returned to the same restaurant that we ate at on Day 3, but this time we had Ftir or Egyptian deep dish pizza.  Between lunches and dinners, we are experiencing quite the Egyptian cuisine.