October 1, 2019 - Aswan to Luxor

We’re good little dobees and are ready for breakfast before 7:00.  There is an omelet and crepe station and lots of breads and other goodies, including two cheeses I’d never tried before, flamank and roomi (Egyptian dry cheese). The flamank is mild and the roomi is kind of musky;  but I’d definitely eat them both again!

We all meet at the reception area and we have three new adventurers for today, with backgrounds in social work and psychology.  We step off the boat and can see our newest destination, Kom-ombo Temple.  It is the only temple devoted two different gods!  We review the way to tell is a temple was built by Egyptians or someone else, and we’re right that the entrances and column capitals are a giveaway that Egyptians didn’t construct Kom-ombo.  There is a large section that was a hospital and Sultan showed us the glyphs for all the medical instruments and prescriptions!  We also learned how to read the Egyptian calendar, with three seasons (planting, irrigating, harvest), and three hundred and sixty days.

There is a huge “observation well” with circular steps going down inside it.  The depth of the water from the Nile determined how much the taxes were.  If the level was low, there wouldn’t be many crops, so the taxes were low.  If the lever was higher, the crops would do better so the taxes were higher.  If the lever was really high, that meant the Nile was flooding and there would be no crops and no taxes!  Because one of the two gods was the crocodile god, they chose the biggest croc and he lived in the well.  When he died, since he was a god, he was mummified.  There is a museum on the site with thirty-six croc mummies!  (and a gift shop - poor Sultan tries to keep us on schedule!)

On the way back to the ship we stop at an outdoor cafe for drinks and the hookah experience.  The beverages include coffee, sodas, and fruit juices (lemon with mint for me) and the flavors of hookah include Coca-cola (!), apple, double apple, and others.  Ginger, Juan, and I share an apple hookah, and unlike Turkey, this one doesn’t make me cough and give up!  I guess that’s because there isn’t any tobacco in it.

We make our way back to the ship and but somehow our cobra snake charmer has moved on and we’ve missed our opportunity to play with the snakes!  Back on board we meet in the lounge to go over the upcoming activities, as well as the optional tours in Luxor.  Some people are meeting at 11:00 to visit the ship’s bridge;  but we’ve all seen a bridge, so we pass.  Next we’ll have lunch (can’t go too long without food) and then visit the Edfu Temple, the most complete one is Egypt.

When we get back to our room from the meeting, there is a grand surprise waiting for us.  The guys last night had promised us something; but they outdid themselves.  Marilyn has already seen it because she and the manager came up to the room to unlock our safe, so she lets me go first.  OMG!  It’s the most elaborate towel animal I’ve ever seen!!  Just too adorable!!   

Soon enough it’s time for lunch, and then Sultan tells us he has a surprise for us!  We’re on our way to Edfu Temple and we’re going by horse-drawn carriage!!  We wanted to be ahead of the crowds, but Diana and Jordan are MIA for a while.  Still because we’re a small group and walking quickly, we manage to get some clear shots of the facade before the hordes descent.  

Sultan assures us that this is proof that the Egyptians invited Wifi!

And gargoyles!

He's willing to stretch to make his point!

This temple is so nearly complete because it was buried in the sand until sometime in the 1800s and it is fabulous to see so much of the original carvings still intact.  Sultan shows us so many of the stories and the gods and goddesses.  This temple is dedicated to Horus and there are beautiful falcon statues in several locations.  Sultan tells us that the people need to see their gods in order to believe in them, so the priests had a farm where they raised falcons.  During the major festivals, when the temple grounds were filled with the faithful, the priests would release the most perfect ones from secret openings high in the walls.  The falcons would circle the crowd two or three times before flying away and the people would be awed and reassured.

There are two little storage areas in the outer courtyard, one for the priests’ paraphernalia, and one for the king’s archives.  One of our group wants to go inside and Sultan stops them because sometimes there is a cobra inside!!  Happily, not today.

My favorite story is about Horus taking revenge on his uncle, Seth, for killing Horus’s father, Osirus.  Seth turns himself into a hippopotamus because they live in the water and falcons are afraid of water.  But Horus gets a boat and goes after the hippo with a chain.  Several times the hippo bites through the chain until Horus gets smart and uses a much stronger chain.  Eventually he binds his uncle and tries to kill him with a harpoon.  He can’t because Seth is the god of evil and if there is no evil in the world, everything will be out of balance.  Instead, Horus keeps him chained up so as to control his power.

It’s really hot and we think we’re ready to go home, so we all go back to our carriages.  But first, Sultan tells us how much of a tip is appropriate and to not turn over the money until we are out of the carriage and back on the ground!  Our driver is a cutie and for a while he races his horse so as to pass one of the other carriages, just to give us a thrill!

Back home, we all have a few minutes to relax before tea.  Ginger, Marilyn and I indulge in the afternoon ritual and Sultan joins us.  We chat for quite a while and one thing that comes up is the Sultan thought Juan was kidding when he said he was a guide.  Ginger details some of Juan’s credentials and Sultan is impressed!  He also says he’s going to prepare a quiz for Juan for tomorrow!

Sultan goes off to talk to Diana and Jordan about their hot-air balloon ride tomorrow and we leave the lounge.  It’s about three hours until the cocktail party at seven.  Ginger is thinking of swimming for a bit and we’re going to do battle with the internet.  I’ve got more photos to add to the blog and Marilyn would be happy just to check her email!

About five-thirty I realize that sunset won’t be visible from our window and I go up on the sun deck to see what I can see.  First off, I see pretty colors in the sky.  Then I see Ginger and Juan!  They’ve ordered a beer and I’m still hanging around when it comes.  Egyptian beer is nothing to write home about, which is ironic, since they invented beer!!

I head down to shower and change for Egyptian night.  All the food will be Egyptian and there is Egyptian music playing for the cocktail party before dinner.  There is a large party of Italians who have really gone all out with the theme.  The men are even wearing Egyptian head gear!  

No one knows what is in these drinks!

Baby pizzas?  Not all that Egyptian!

Someone says we are going through the lock, and we head up top to watch.  Sure enough, we pull into the lock and wait patiently for the water level to change.  

Then it’s back down for dinner.  After dinner there is an Egyptian party with Egyptian music;  but we’re all too beat.  And, besides, we have to be at breakfast by 5:30 tomorrow morning!  Juan goes straight back to his cabin, to get some sleep.  Ginger, Marilyn, and I stop by the jewelry store on the boat and make ourselves crazy.  Ginger is looking for scarabs for her girls and I love a bracelet;  but it’s about four times what I can bring myself to spend.  Marilyn, on the other hand, falls in love with a silver right with a turquoise scarab, and not only does it fit her, it’s also very reasonably priced!!

On the way up we stop at the desk to see about the internet and the young man operates on both Marilyn’s phone and mine.  Who knows how long that will last;  but so far, so good. When we get to our room there is another surprise!!  A tourist is sleeping on my bed!

Ginger comes back to our room with us and we all chat for a while before we’re ready to call it a night.  Except, of course, that I’ve still got photos to put up!  Oh well.  Good night! 

PS - Sultan taught us last night that good Muslims do not clink their glasses because the Prophet said it was bad.