Blogs from Kom Ombo, Upper Egypt, Egypt, Africa - page 3

Dag 289. Denne natten paa baaten var enda verre enn natten for. Vi hadde faatt et tynnere pledd enn det vi hadde, og det hjalp lite med de ekstra klaerne - Jane laa og skalv stor deler av natten. Mazen hadde maalt temperaturen, og kunne fortelle at den hadde vaert nede i 4 grader. Paa natten kjente Jane at magen ikke var helt som den skulle, og listet seg rask fram til dekk for aa finne skoene. Det var ikke saa lett i morket, saa hun tok paa seg noen andre sko bare for aa ha noe paa beina. Planken var tatt vekk, men det var heldigvis mulig aa hoppe ned paa en gresstue fra baugen. Med lommelykten i ene haanden (for aa finne fram til et egnet sted) og toalettpapir i den andre, snublet hun ... read more

We sailed overnight and arrived to Edfu during breakfast. After docking alongside the other boats (side note - the cruise boats dock up against eachother so you usually had to walk through the lobbies of two or three boats to get to yours), we got off to go to Edfu temple. Transportation was included in our tour, so Alaa' arranged a caleche (horse and buggy) on the corniche to get to the temple. We noticed that the people were dressed much more tradionally here than they were in Cairo and even Luxor. Edfu temple was built in the Ptolemaic period (237-57 BC) of Ancient Egypt. Essentially when Alexander the Great came through, he installed one of his generals Ptolemy as leader. To win over the people, the Ptolemy dynasty took on the pharonic lifestyle, and were ... read more

Cruising on the Nile December 27, 2008 After enjoying a delicious breakfast on board, we sailed on the Nile by felucca, an Egyptian-style sail boat, around Kitchener's Island, a small granite island that was landscaped with exotic plant species by Lord Kitchener. There was a strong wind that carried us swiftly across the Nile under blue skies and sunny weather with a young Nubian boy on a water board being dragged along while singing Nubian folksongs in the hope of earning baksheesh. It was a great way to start our day of cruising down the Nile. We look forward to returning soon to Aswan to rest and relax at the Moevenpick Resort on Elephantine Island for two days so we can spend time at the Nubian Museum and take in some other sights and activities that ... read more

Tenth & Eleventh Stop: Kom Ombo & Edfu Egypt. As we made our way up the nile river by boat, we made several stops including one to the ancient city of Kom Ombo. The most notable thing in Kom Ombo is a temple built during the Ptolemaic dynasty (300 B.C. to 30 B.C.) while Egypt was under Greek rule. The temple is made to honor both Horus (Falcon headed God of the sky) and Sobek (Crocodile headed God of the river). Before reaching Edfu, we took a tour of a small village near the Nile and we had a fantastic party on the boat where everyone dressed up as Egyptians. Next stop along the Nile was Edfu. The most notable thing in Edfu is the Temple of Horus, also built during the Ptolemaic dynasty through the ... read more

There's not a lot to say on this one. After we got off our feluccas, we visted Kom Ombo and Edfu, both temples near the Nile between where we finished our cruise and Aswan where we got back on our train. As usual, they were both stunning, with huge engraved walls and impressive columns and entrances. Unfortunately we were not in the mood to be wowed by more temples, especially after the arak (the local spirit, like ouzo) that we had been drinking the night before so they didn't get the attention they deserved. I'll let the photos speak for them. That night we got on a night train from Aswan back to Cairo. I'll never complain about Asian sleeper trains again. This one, though we were in first class, had aeroplane type seats, bright overhead ... read more