Handling the hassle, sailing the Nile and discovering an Ancient World

Kom Ombo Temple

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This temple has two sides (which is apparently unusual). One side is dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek (there were about 300 crocodile mummies found in the area). Sobek is god of fertility and creator of the world. The other side is dedicated to the falcon god Horus. It was first built around 180 BC and was added to by other Pharoahs.

Us in a room at Edfu Temple

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This temple is the second largest in Egypt (next to Karnak Temple) and is also the best preserved. It took about 200 years to build!

The Ankh (sign of life in hieroglyphics) carved into a wall at EdfuTemple

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You see this sign (kind of looks like a key) everywhere in Egypt. A lot of statues are holding it (usually by the circle end). It signifies, firstly the horizontal bar represents upper and lower Egypt (left - right) and the circle signifies eternal life (i.e. afterlife that the Ancient Egyptians so believed in). This is why the statues are always holding the circle part - so they can enjoy the afterlife.

Homeless Man at Luxor Temple

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photo courtesy of our friend Ashley. We forgot our camera and so he gave us a copy of his shots. All worked out quite well considering he had a nice new slr and took much better shots than ours ever could.

God of Fertility

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photo courtesy of Ashley

Inside Luxor Temple

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photo courtesy of Ashley

More of Luxor Temple

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photo courtesy of Ashley

Sphinx Head outside Luxor Temple

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photo courtesy of Ashley

Road of Sphinxes (?) outside Luxor Temple

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Photo courtesy of Ashley. Once upon a time this road went for 3 kms and lead directly to the Karnak Temple. It was of course lined with Sphinx statues. The Egyptian Government is in the process of restoring this road and the statues that will line it.

Entrance to the Luxor Temple

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Photo courtesy of Ashley. The big obelisk you can see to the left of the entrance stands at 25m tall. There used to be another on the right side of the entrance but this now stands in Place de la Concorde, Paris. If you look back on our blogs we should have a picture of it. This was the square where all the beheadings happened during the revolution.

Look out John Wayne.....

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We rode from the Nile to Hatshepsut Temple (just over an hour). It was so much fun but we did feel sorry for the donkeys (they were so well behaved) - particularly Daniel's wee one.

Hatshepsut Temple

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This temple was built for Queen Hatshepsut (or Hot Chicken Soup as known by tourists). Hatshepsut was possibly the most influential, successful and long reigning of women Pharaohs. She fought battles and won but during her 24 years mainly kept the peace and established trade agreements with neighbouring empires. She became Pharoah in 1479 BC and died in her fifties in 1458 BC. This temple is near the Valley of the Kings. Some time after she died there was an attempt to virtually wipe her from the "history" books. Her cartouches (royal name in hieroglyphics) were chiselled off the walls, statues etc in her temple were desicrated and thrown in a pit and her temple was buried. It is believed that the man succeeded her successor (if that makes sense), tried to eradicate her from the history books as he did not possess a very strong blood link to the royal family and therefore his role as leader was fragile. When they discovered her tomb, they could tell that it was a Pharoah's but had no idea how she fit into the big scheme of things at first.

Horus at the Hot Chicken Soup Temple

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Isn't it amazing that the colours can still be so vibrant after 3000 or so years! Also when they found Hatshepsut's mummy, to prove that it was in fact her they tested her DNA against her grandmothers (who they knew). Then to double prove she was who they thought she was they took a molar that was found somewhere in a royal box with her name on it and it fit perfectly into the empty hole in her gums.....bit gross but again amazing that the bodies are still so well preserved after .... 3000 years.

Valley of the Kings

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Tombs were constructed here over a period of 500 years from the 16th to 11th century (BC). All in all there are at least 63 tombs here. The Ancient Egyptians decided to build here because there was a natural forming pyramid shape on top of the hill. Unlike the pyramids of Giza though, these tombs were actually built into the rock. Some of the tombs here are simply amazing. It was here that it really sunk in how ancient these monuments in Egypt really are. But the vibrancy of the colour and the delicacy of the artwork has stood the test of time. The colours in the tombs were almost as if they'd just been painted. Much brighter and complete than the picture of Horus at Hatshepsut before.

Tomb of Tutankhamun at Valley of the Kings

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No photos were allowed actually in the tomb so this will have to do. Tutankhamun, while very famous now, was not a notable leader nor did he reign for long. It is the discovery of his tomb that makes him so important. It was the first completely intact tomb discovered, most others had had the treasure removed. This guys was embalmed etc as per usual. He was then put in a granite sarcophagus, then a wooden one painted gold, then a SOLID GOLD sarcophagus.... you can understand why the archaeologists got so excited when they found this one. His tomb now is fairly boring to be honest. They have placed his body (just wrapped in bandages, not in the sarcophagus) in a glass box for the world to see. It was pretty gross but kind of interesting to see how well preserved his body still is.

Another shot of the Valley of the Kings

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trying to get a shot that shows how vast this place is.