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Published: January 12th 2009
Cruising in a felucca
Took first felucca in Aswan to get to Kitchener's Island to visit Lord Kitchener's botanical garden. 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 Aswan has to offer! Aswan is a lovely spot!
At around 10:30am, we left Aswan and cruised to Kom Ombo. We enjoyed seeing the countryside en route with fishermen and farmers hard at work. Kom Ombo is 40 kilometers (28 miles) north of Aswan and since earliest times, has received visitors who have traveled through the Libyan and Arabian deserts from Sudan
Touring botanical garden with amusing brit!
Long pants recommended in December since the mornings can be chilly! on the caravan routes. The town of Ombos built on a high dune overlooking the Nile gained administrative importance during the Ptolemic age as it protected the southern border of Egypt and in the Roman period was a military station.
The temple was started by Ptolemy VI Philometor in the early second century BC. The Temple known as Kom Ombo is actually two temples consisting of a Temple to Sobek (Crocodile God) and a Temple of Haroeris (Horus the Elder) . This temple with a double sanctuary is unique. Kom Ombo is very beautiful and just steps away from where the ship docks. Again there were touts galore at the dock that seem to gravitate towards Mama Canuck, who handles them adeptly. Mama Canuck was particularly fascinated by the Ancient Egyptians method of determining levels of taxation. The higher the flood levels measured at the Nilometer, the higher the taxes! Auditing flood levels on the Nile sounds fun!
We then cruised to visit the Temple of Horus at Edfu after sunset. The ship moves quickly in its downstream (south to north) direction. Edfu lies 100 kilometers south of Luxor.
The Edfu temple, completed during the Ptolemic age
(305-30 B.C.), is the site of one of the greatest and best preserved temples of ancient Egypt. The temple was dedicated to Horus and provides a wealth of information through its inscriptions, which describe the founding and construction methods of similar temples, as well as daily rituals and myths of ancient times. The statue of Horus located in the temple's outer courtyard is thought to make wishes come true for those tall enough to touch its beak when making a wish. Needless to say, Mama Canuck didn't get to make any wishes, but she's counting on Papa Canuck's wish coming true! Another unique aspect is the sanctuary which once housed a boat that is now exhibited at the Louvre Musee. It certainly lived up to its reputation of being one of the greatest temples. It was not only interesting to visit, but the illumination of the temple was spectacular. It was magical!
We took a caleche to and from the temple, with our entertaining escorts, Mohamed and Mustafa, claiming to be orphaned brothers driving the caleche at break neck speed shouting we are Ferrari, we are Schumacher! After witnessing crocodile tears, receiving kisses on our cheeks, deflecting repeated marriage
Sonesta St. George
Ready to leave Aswan for Kom Ombo & Edfu Temples. proposals and compliments in English & French from the caleche drivers, we started worrying since we only had 20 Egyptian Pounds to tip the drivers. We sensed our tip would not be well received. Unfortunately, our hunch was right on! Fortunately, Papa Canuck waited till we all disembarked from the caleche; otherwise, Canuck Junior may have been held for ransom!
December 28, 2008 We cruised overnight, passed through Esna’s locks and docked at Bogdaddy's, which is located quite a distance from Luxor’s city centre, just next to the new bridge crossing to the West Bank.
Luxor is known for having the world's greatest open air museum. Luxor stands where ancient Thebes, the "City of the Thousand Gates," once stood, which was the great capital of Egypt during the New Kingdom, and the glorious city of the God Amon Ra. Luxor, which means "the Palaces" in Arabic, is true to its name with a great number of magnificent temples and tombs.
Unfortunately, Canuck Junior fell ill in the early morning hours so Mama Canuck stayed behind while Papa Canuck visited Luxor’s East Bank after enjoying breakfast onboard. Mama Canuck wrote blogs while Papa Canuck ventured out with
our group to visit two amazing temples: Karnak and Luxor.
The Temple of Karnak, the main place of worship of the Theban Triad with Amun as its head, is the largest ancient religious site in the world. Construction of the temples started in the Middle Kingdom and continued through to Ptolemaic times, which represents the reigns of 30 pharaohs. After touring the temple, Papa Canuck walked along an avenue of ram-headed Sphinxes that once linked Karnak Temple with Luxor Temple. Since the temples are 2 miles apart, Papa Canuck joined the tour group on the bus to Luxor Temple.
Luxor Temple, dedicated to the Theban Triad of Amun, Mut, and Chons, was built during the New Kingdom around 1400 BC by the two great pharaohs, Amenhotep III and Ramses II. Both temples are very impressive sights and rank among Papa Canuck’s favorites. The rest of the Travelling Canucks look forward to Papa Canuck’s expertise when we visit the temples once Canuck Junior recovers since we are luckily staying in Luxor for 4 additional nights after the cruise.
We spent the last night on the boat docked at Bogdaddy’s in Luxor. We enjoyed dinner onboard. We had an
Amazing Sight
Hard to believe coloured walls and ceilings survived thousands of years. early night since we hadn’t slept a wink because of Mummy Tummy. Luckily all the Travelling Canucks recovered quickly.
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