Temples ... sailing ... bliss
Another super early start today with a 5.00 am wake up call (actually 4.53 but what’s 7 minutes when you are already awake). We didn’t get to see the Esna locks last night in the end. Despite being told that we would go through at about 10 pm we finally gave up sitting up on the top deck watching other boats go through at about 11 pm given we knew we had an early start this morning. We found out today that we didn’t get to go through until about 1 am so we’re pretty happy that we called it a night when we did.
So ... up before dawn to meet Mohammed who again had us off the boat early and into a horse drawn carriage (the only form of public transport in Edfu) and off to the Temple of Edfu. Given our readiness to get started and Mohammed’s efficiency we were the second in line at the temple entrance well before the opening time, which meant when it did open we were well ahead of the crowds and larger groups.
The Temple (like all the ones we have seen so far) was beautiful. The early start meant that when we first arrived it was still lit by display lights and had a serene glow to it. Then as the sun began to rise and the lights were turned off the temple took on different colours, light and shadows. Again, Mohammed gave us our guided tour and then left us to explore on our own before meeting him to find our carriage driver (modern technology means a quick phone call has your horse arriving pretty quickly) before heading back to our boat.
Then we had breakfast before moving to the sun deck to stake out our favourite cruising spot, which is at the back of the boat ... away from the pool and the smokers and overlooking the Nile as you cruise along. We were surprised at how few people sit up on the sun deck (which is well covered) but prefer their rooms! As the morning has progressed more have arrived ... and the beers have begun to flow (not for us, but boy some people can drink!).
As we cruised along this morning from Edfu to Kom Ombo we have seen lush farming land often on small isolated islands, open barren sandstone desert, the granite queries that were used to build the Temple of Luxor, a barge/ferry crossing, a massive bridge being built to replace the barge, sandstone escarpments and many boats of varying sizes cruising up and down the river.
After lunch we met up with Mohammed ... he had told us 2.30 but as we had finished lunch and he knows we are organised he sought us out to see if we wanted to go earlier given we had already docked so that we could avoid the crowds. Needless to say we jumped at the chance and headed off a good half an hour ahead of the rest of the pack. Kom Ombo Temple is literally right next to the dock so a quick walk had us inside the site and having our guided tour by Mohammed before he gave us some free time to explore. The site also contains the Crocodile Museum (part of this temple is dedicated to Sobek who is the God of Crocodiles) which contains about 10 mummified crocodiles and the story of how they were sacred to the Egyptians.
Back on the boat, which was the first at the dock today which meant we were actually able to see it from the outside for the first time, and have set sail for Aswan where we will be docked for the next 2 evenings. A chance to sit on the back deck again to watch the world pass by, watch the sunset, relax a little, read a little and prepare for another big day tomorrow. Tonight we have Egyptian belly dancers performing (not quite sure what to expect or how we feel about that!). Early night though given we were awake so early and tomorrow is full on, although we do get to sleep in until 7.00 am!
So ... up before dawn to meet Mohammed who again had us off the boat early and into a horse drawn carriage (the only form of public transport in Edfu) and off to the Temple of Edfu. Given our readiness to get started and Mohammed’s efficiency we were the second in line at the temple entrance well before the opening time, which meant when it did open we were well ahead of the crowds and larger groups.
The Temple (like all the ones we have seen so far) was beautiful. The early start meant that when we first arrived it was still lit by display lights and had a serene glow to it. Then as the sun began to rise and the lights were turned off the temple took on different colours, light and shadows. Again, Mohammed gave us our guided tour and then left us to explore on our own before meeting him to find our carriage driver (modern technology means a quick phone call has your horse arriving pretty quickly) before heading back to our boat.
Then we had breakfast before moving to the sun deck to stake out our favourite cruising spot, which is at the back of the boat ... away from the pool and the smokers and overlooking the Nile as you cruise along. We were surprised at how few people sit up on the sun deck (which is well covered) but prefer their rooms! As the morning has progressed more have arrived ... and the beers have begun to flow (not for us, but boy some people can drink!).
As we cruised along this morning from Edfu to Kom Ombo we have seen lush farming land often on small isolated islands, open barren sandstone desert, the granite queries that were used to build the Temple of Luxor, a barge/ferry crossing, a massive bridge being built to replace the barge, sandstone escarpments and many boats of varying sizes cruising up and down the river.
After lunch we met up with Mohammed ... he had told us 2.30 but as we had finished lunch and he knows we are organised he sought us out to see if we wanted to go earlier given we had already docked so that we could avoid the crowds. Needless to say we jumped at the chance and headed off a good half an hour ahead of the rest of the pack. Kom Ombo Temple is literally right next to the dock so a quick walk had us inside the site and having our guided tour by Mohammed before he gave us some free time to explore. The site also contains the Crocodile Museum (part of this temple is dedicated to Sobek who is the God of Crocodiles) which contains about 10 mummified crocodiles and the story of how they were sacred to the Egyptians.
Back on the boat, which was the first at the dock today which meant we were actually able to see it from the outside for the first time, and have set sail for Aswan where we will be docked for the next 2 evenings. A chance to sit on the back deck again to watch the world pass by, watch the sunset, relax a little, read a little and prepare for another big day tomorrow. Tonight we have Egyptian belly dancers performing (not quite sure what to expect or how we feel about that!). Early night though given we were awake so early and tomorrow is full on, although we do get to sleep in until 7.00 am!
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