Blogs from Kom Ombo, Upper Egypt, Egypt, Africa

Our morning started with a little less opportunity for atmosphere soaking and we were actually dropped off on time - they must have known that our plan for the next three days was to soak, on the deck of our dahabiya, along the Nile to Esna. We knew we were in for three relaxing days on the deck, watching the world go by, punctuated by a few excursions to shore for some ugh history. What we didn’t know is that our 10 berth boat was exclusively for us! Well isn’t this just the way to travel! Ugh poshness! Our journey started northwards, pulled by a tug and we relaxed on our (exclusive) deck, reading, lolling about on deck chairs and generally soaking up the (posh) atmosphere. We looked down our noses as many cruise ships passed ... read more

Crocodile and other temples of Egypt -Piprey on the wheels My cousin had mentioned as not to be missed and I was determined to see these magnificent ancient temples. I went the Egyptian tourist board at the Luxor train station to book a private car. After a lovely breakfast of Brinjal (Mesaqa'ah), Ful medames (fava beans with olive oil and cumin), ommlette, red hibiscus cold drink and tea, I was picked up in style by a private car. I asked to see the Esna temple but the tourist agency said that it would be de-tour as it was on the other side of Nile. The countryside was simple with some banyan trees, tall kash grass and cultivated in a narrow strip of land by the river. At every checkpoint, the police checked the tourist permits and ... read more

23 nov (Toujours sur Elephantine Island) Un ciel azurin, sans nuage et presque blanc s'affiche une fois de plus sur l'Égypte. L'horizon presque déteint par le soleil tourne au gris au delà des dunes. Je mange mon déjeuner de chez Hamo alors que l'aimable hôte m'offre un autre plat huileux de fuul (fèves fava) que j'éponge longuement avec mes A'aish baladi (pain pita) presque cramés, directement sortis des braises. Hamo aurait bien aimé que je reste plus longtemps en cette période de lente reprise du tourisme en Égypte. Parfois, il venait me voir durant la journée avec son vétuste téléphone cellulaire en me demandant de répondre aux questions des voyageurs à sa place sur les sites de réservation. Difficile de tenir une maison d'hôte lorsqu'on sait ni lire ni écrire l'anglais. ... C'est sur la corniche ... read more

To travel through the reaches of the Upper Nile in Egypt is to experience ancient Egypt in what a friend calls a "sufficiency of plenty". With a heavy emphasis on the plentypart. This was Day 7 of my travels. We left at the crack of dawn, a 6.30 pick up for 3 hours driving. Heading north by first retracing my steps across the desert to Aswan and ultimately wind up at Luxor by night fall. But first visit the Temples at Edfu and Kom Ombo. EDFU is the best preserved of all Egyptian Temples. Like the KOM OMBO temple it was built in the period of Greek rule under a Ptolemy (ie not an Egyptian Pharaoh). So these are "recent" Temples dating back to only 330BC following the conquest by Alexander the Great. Greco-Roman inputs in ... read more

This morning we awoke docked in Edfu. After breakfast on board the boat we took horses and buggies from the dock to the Temple of Horus which is dedicated to the Falcon God. Some of the horses are terribly skinny which is very distressing because they don't look strong enough to be pulling tourists around. There doesn't seem to be any alternative though to being taken to the temple in a horse and buggy. I guess it would be even worse for the horse if its owner wasn't getting the customers. Despite being off sightseeing again by 7.30am it was worth it to be amongst the first few tourists at the temple. Hussein has been really good at hustling us along so that we can beat the crowds and enjoy most of the sites without too ... read more