Saling Down The Nile Through History

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What A Way To Pass The Time!!

Boarding our Felucca at midday, we settled in for a relaxing three day sail down the Nile covering about 120 kilometres. The felucca's are owned by Omar, the Nubian Chief and run by the Nubian villagers. Omar decides which families need the support from our tourist dollars the most and organises them to lend a hand but the captain of each felucca remains the same. A simple vessel with a single mast and sail, small cabin and hand-held rudder, the hold beneath the deck is covered in boards and then mattresses are laid on top to create a permanent lounge-slash-bed for the group. The captain and the crew would sail all day before parking up for the night at a secluded area (usually an island in the middle of the Nile) as continuing on after dark is too dangerous due to the number of cruise liners travelling between Aswan and Edfu. All of this plus three traditional meals a day cooked on a gas three burner on the bow meant they had their work cut out for them but managed without a hitch and in style. Credit where credit is due!!

Early on the second day we arrived at Kom Ombo, a town that has existed since before the Greek occupation of Egypt. During the first couple of centuries BC, the Greek emperor had a temple built to an Egyptian god here (the one with the crocodile head) on the banks of the Nile. Unique for it's specific details, it contains one of the first calendars in Egypt as well as a pit for crocodiles to live where mummified ones were found when the site was rediscovered. The hieroglyphics behind the Sanctuary depict early medical instruments and procedures that were used by the priests and on top of all that, there is even evidence that the people that carved the hieroglyphics had a sense of humour. On one particular wall there is a a carving of two penises, one with five drops and the other with seven drops. A couple of explanations have arisen but my favourite is that the Egyptians were having a laugh at the Greeks and saying they weren't as fertile as they were.

The next day was pure relaxation with no stops but we had favourable winds so we reached our stop for the night, a nice sandy beach, just after midday and had time for a refreshing swim. Yes, that's right.... I swam in the Nile River!! Not as bad as you imagine really and to be honest... after two and a half days on a boat without a shower in 40+ degrees, it smelt better then we did!!!

Setting sail for the last time, we only had a couple of hours before hitting Edfu, another temple, and the second biggest in Egypt. The Temple Of Edfu was built during the Middle Kingdom but is considered unfinished. This is due to the fact that there are lots of empty cartouche (the oval shapes with the name of someone inside). During construction there was a change in Pharaohs and the news took so long to travel down the Nile to Edfu that the names were left blank. This temple was also used by Christians trying to evade persecution during the Roman times so there is also evidence of defacing on the gods like in Philae Temple. One scene can still be made out though of a god fighting his uncle, an evil god, but being stopped from killing him by Ra, the main god. This story is throughout Ancient Egyptian mythology and began with his uncle killing his father twice. I say twice because his mother is Isus, the goddess of magic, brought him back to life after the first time.

From Edfu it's just an hour by bus to Luxor, or what was once the capital of Ancient Egypt and known as Thebes. Luxor has the greatest concentration of archaeological sites in all of Egypt. To start off we headed out to lunch, casually walking past the Temple Of Luxor, before heading out to the largest temple in Egypt, Karnak Temple. In actual fact, Karnak is a collection of temples adding up to over ten because as each Pharaoh ruled he added his own temple to the complex, dedicating it to his main god. The last and biggest part was built by Rameses II (there's that name again!!) with an avenue of sphinxes leading up to the temple gates, two huge statues of gods and 134 columns that take eight people to stretch around their bases and took a year to mine, build and assemble each one... and that's before you even reach the Holy Of The Holies. In other words, Rameses II didn't even see the completion of it which is shown by the fact that the facade is unfinished. The blocks are still rough and the statues never made it onto the outside but what it does do is show how the Ancient Egyptians constructed such massive buildings. On the inside there is a ramp of compacted dirt that was used to roll the blocks up on logs to the top so they could be fitted by the craftsmen. Another addition to the temples is two great pink granite obelisks erected by the first Queen of Egypt. Queen Hatchetsup (?) came to power because her step son was too young to rule. She was to mentor him until his 21st birthday so that he could become Pharaoh but she obviously liked the power and blocked her step son from ruling. When she died and he took over, he made sure that all her names on the monuments she erected were scratched out but the obelisks were a dedication to the sun god, Ra, which no one ever defaced, so he erected a huge wall around them to block them from sight instead. Because of this, the one left standing today is in near perfect condition apart from the fact that the tip is faded from the sun creating a two tone effect.

That night we were back to Karnak Temple for the Sound And Light Show. Although slightly tacky and touristy, it is definitely an experience I don't regret. Walking through the columns and paths in the darkness lends itself to the imagination and you can almost see what it was like back in it's prime. Culminating in a display over the Sacred Lake, it's both informative and entertaining (Sorry Amy... no lasers though). After the show it was into the markets in Luxor for what I have taken a liking to... Egyptian tea with mint and a Shisha, or happy bubbly as they sometimes call it (don't worry Mum... it's just flavoured tobacco). With choices of apple, cherry, rockmelon, lemon and mint, mixed fruit or strawberry, it's a great way to unwind and relax before realising you have to be up before the sun so you can ride a donkey!!!!!

"Only the curious have, if they live, a tale worth telling at all." - Alistair Reid

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Comments

[amy denning]

whats a light show with no lasers???
no lasers??? disgraceful!!! altho i am extremely jealous of the shisha.....

[amy denning]

omg!!!
i just saw the photos of the farm, omg did you smuggle me a goat?????? yes i still want one...