Nov 3: Cruising on the Nile, temple visits

So last night there was drama, as we had to change ships in the evening due to the air conditioning failing after 3 attempted fixes on our original ship.  Unfortunately, that meant that many in our group of 14 (including us) were assigned to a lesser cabin on the new ship, the Nile Adventurer.

 


Our cabin is smaller, does not have a large sliding patio-style outside window (only a 5-foot portal window instead)


and has less storage space (though we gained a bathtub!).  

 


This really upset a few members of our group (not us!) and there were some ugly moments involving some of our group members and the tour director, who was trying his best to make sure we didn't have to try to sleep in cabins without AC.  

Anyhoo, after breakfast this morning we boarded a bus and went to the city of Aswan to see the Philae Temple, which is the origin of the Philae-o-fish sandwich (just kidding!) We reached the temple via small boat.



Philae is an island in the reservoir of the Aswan Low Dam which was built by the British around 1900. The original temple complex was frequently flooded when the dam was built, so it was dismantled and moved to this island.  Egypt was occupied by many nations over the centuries...Romans, Greeks, France under Napolean, etc, and this temple reflects those occupations in its architecture, hieroglithics, etc, including serving as an early Christian church (see the cross image below) in the 4th century AD





This is the "signature" of Cleopatra:


Our tour director thinks this is funny, taken outside the temple overlooking the Nassar Reservoir (look closely!)


On the way back to the boat, we stopped at a papyrus shop


where they showed us how they process the papyrus plant to make paper.  They cut off the outside of the stalk, beat it with a hammer to make it soft, roll it to get the moisture out, then put it in a press for several days.


We bought ourselves an anniversary gift (#48!) with a black cat on papyrus, with both of our names inscribed


After lunch, we went out on the Nile for a felucca ride.  This is a small boat with a sail.


A small Egyptian boy paddleboarded from shore, held onto the boat, and sang to us in several languages


The crew then played the tambourine and danced with us



Since it had been an uneventful day (ha!), we visited the Kom Ombo temple around sunset.  This temple is unique since it's dedicated equally to 2 gods:  Sobek, the crocodile god, and Horus, the falcon god.  Each half has its own entrance and sanctuary.  There was lots of discussion on our trip about the Greek occupation of Egypt under several generations of Ptolemies.  This temple was built during the time of Ptolemy V around 200BC.



Before the temples were protected, some archeologists would just tell the locals they wanted a particular part of it, and the local would cut it out and sell it to them.


Note the falcon head on Horus, one of the most common symbols using around Egypt representing power and vision



The ancient Egyptians believed that the gods sent physical manifestations of themselves to earth, and the god Sobek sent his spirit to crocodiles, so after the death of a crocodile, they were mummified! 


 



 

Note the crocodile head on this wall:







 

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