Nov 4: Aswan temples and Egyptian Night!

We took a boat over the west bank of the Nile in Aswan, and rode in small horse-drawn carriages
 

 


to the Edfu Temple, the temple of Horus the falcon god. It is one of Egypt's best preserved temples.



 

Many of the temples we saw had gigantic wooden doors at one time at the entrance (60-80 ft tall, covered in gold...there was lots of gold available in Egypt).  Our guide pointed out where the door hinges were at each temple

The columns were spectacular, and the places that weren't exposed to the sun still had the original colors from over 3000 years ago




Sometimes there was black on the ceiling.  This is frequently because Coptic Christians had used the temples and built fires. 

This temple was discovered probably 50 feet below current ground level, covered up by silt from the Nile

Pigs and hippos were manifestations of evil (hence the Egyptians don't eat them).  Here is a picture of an Egyptian torturing a pig


We then went to the Esna temple a short walk from the ship.  This temple has recently been reopened and is still being cleaned so the original colors are starting to re-emerge. 






Back at the boat, it was Egyptian night, so we got to pick out our favorite costume (galalbyya) from the gift shop and wear it to dinner, then dance to Egyptian music












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