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Published: June 26th 2017
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Geo: 24.0909, 32.9044
When we left Luxor we became stranded for about 12 hours due to the low level in the Nile so the next couple of days we had to make up time. This was easily done, however. We reached Edfu about 5pm on the second day. Here we visited the Temple of Horus. This was even more spectacular at night as the lights gave a very dramatic effect to the place. We went from the boat to the temple in horse-drawn carriages. This was the first of the Greco-Roman temples we had seen and was decorated in deep reliefs of Horus, Isis and Osiris. This commemorated the fight between Horus and Set to recover Osiris who had been cut up into fourteen pieces. This is one of the most complete temples in Egypt with a roof still covering most of it. The capitals on the columns are all different and beautifully carved.
The next morning we arrived at Kom Ombol and our visit to the temple there was at 7am.This was very close to our boat so only a 5 minute walk. This temple was actually two temples in one. on one side was one dedicated to Horus which became a
healing sanctuary and the second was for Sobek the crocodile god.He was depicted with a human body and a crocodile's head.The most important panels here were one showing a calendar and another depicting all the surgical instruments used in healing in ancient times.
After this visit it was back to the ship and 5 hours of cruising to Aswan. This was the most relaxing part of the trip. Cruising along this part of the NIle was so peaceful! There was hardly a murmur from the engines and we were drifting through agricultural scenes. Only the occasional braying of a donkey or the lowing of cattle broke the stillness. We sat in the sunshine, reading and dozing. Wonderful!
We reached Aswan at 1pm. Our afternoon was spent looking at its attractions. The first visit was to the Unfinished Obelisk. This would have been 42 metres high if ever finished but it developed a crack and was abandoned in the granite quarry from which it was being carved. We then visited Aswan High Dam,which is guarded by the army with tanks.It now provides most of Egypt's electricity. Our final visit was to Philae Temple. This is another Greco-Roman temple dedicated again to Horus. It
had been moved from its original location to higher ground when the dam was built. We got there in a small boat. The most interesting part of this was the graffiti, dating to the mid 1880s as well as inscriptions from Napoleonic times.
Our final act was a trip back to our boat via a Felucca. These have one huge sail. It was very pleasant, in the late afternoon sunshine to be gliding quietly down the Nile, observing the waterbirds back to our boat.
These 4 days have been so relaxing and laid back but we have also visited some of the most important ancient sites. What an experience!
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