Nile Cruise

We got to sleep-in before our mid-day transfer to the Lazuli Karnak Dahabia (a traditional Nile cruise boat) in Esna. While the other travelers toured the Karnak site and Valleys of the King and Queen (you may recall we visited these the day before), we had lunch on board. 

After our fellow passengers arrived we began our journey south (up-river) on the Nile with an assist from a tugboat. Later we noticed that when time allowed we sailed (very slowly). The shore varied from desert to green along the river but the desert was never very far away. 

Our destination was El-Hegz where we had dinner and overnighted.

Next day we sailed to El-Kaab, an ancient Egyptian city known for its well-preserved temple ruins, rock-cut tombs, and fortifications. It was dedicated to the goddess Nekhbet, the vulture goddess.

Next we visited the Temple of Edfu, built between 237 and 57 BC and dedicated to the falcon god Horus, it has grand columns and  intricate hieroglyphics.

We continued onward to Fawaza Island for a BBQ and dancing. When we returned to our room we discovered that our towels were now a heart shaped sculpture lit with little candles. And young Amy's was an elephant with stuffed animal friends.

The next sail took us to Bassaw / Bisaw fishing village where we toured the village . Afterwards we had a boat ride with the fishermen where we "caught" fish and crayfish. We tasted some of one family's work, some fresh baked bread.

Upon our return to the ship, we had the opportunity to swim/play in the river. 

We lunched while sailing to Djebej Selsrla where we visited the Temple of Horemheb and a renowned Quarry, the main source of sandstone for many temples and buildings throughout Ancient Egypt, including Karnak and Luxor. The temple  features rock-cut shrines, stelae, and inscriptions 

We sailed on to visit Kom Ombo, a temple dedicated to two gods—Sobek (the crocodile god) and Horus (the falcon god); The temple has well-preserved reliefs, a museum of ancient, mummified crocodiles and a nilometer (top right),. Nilometers were used to measure the clarity and water level of the Nile's annual flood. The readings were crucial for agricultural purposes, determining the expected harvest and assessing taxes for the year. 

We continued to Herdiab Village (one of the oldest villages on the Nile with traditional trade life and farming methods)" for visit with much less of a touristy feel. We saw fresh dates, burros, a husked fruit vine and houses proclaiming their Hag (trip to Mecca) with paintings on their houses including details of their transportation.  Apparently one family has special connections and managed to arrange unique transportation...see bottom left.

We stopped for dinner and breakfast on land on an island near Aswan. The sunset over the water was great.

 

We next sailed to Aswan, our final destination. In the late afternoon and evening we visited the Temple of Philae on the Island of Agilka. This was one of the last places to worship the ancient Egyptian religion after Christianity appeared in 550AD. It is dedicated to the goddess Isis.

 The temple was moved to its new location in the 70's to save it from the raising waters from the new Aswam dam, an amazing engineering feat. Trust me, to our naive eyes, you wouldn't know it wasn't in its original location and its natural weathered state. 

We relaxed and had tea at the Old Nubian Guesthouse while waiting for the evening sound and light show at Philea Temple.

We  completed our cruise and it was time  to disembark...but we needed a couple last photos.