Most of the big Nile Cruise ships make the trip from Luxor to Aswan in three days, but since we were sailing, our trip took five. Plenty of time to relax and watch the scenery go by.
We were a “fleet” of seven boats. I think it looks pretty impressive when we are all under sail.
One of our helmsmen.
Our crew manager, Salem, who always made sure we were comfortable.
Kom Ombo is dedicated to the god Sobek, the crocodile headed god. They even mummified crocodiles.
We stopped at the village of Gebel Silsileh, home of the Temple of Horemheb and more sandstone quarries.
Horemheb was the last pharaoh of the 18th dynasty and was previously the commander in chief of king Tut’s army.
The previous evening we had a sunset walk in the desert. It’s interesting that the Aswan dam provided for 40% more arable land, but how quickly it turns into desert.
El Kab is one of the places along the Nile used to quarry stone for many of the temples.
It is also the home of the tomb of Nekhbet, who I believe was one of the unifiers of Upper and Lower Kingdoms of Egypt.
We sailed on the Edfu, home of the temple of the god Horus, the falcon headed god. The temple is impressive just from the size of the first pylon alone,
Horus was the son of the god Isis and Osiris.
Perhaps this can give you an idea of scale.
We boarded our somewhat unconventional cruise boat (based on the traditional dahabiya) in Luxor and headed toward the town of Esna and it’s magnificent temple.
The temple itself is below the water level of the Nile, and was not restored to this colorful place until five years ago.
They discovered a new tomb behind the temple just three weeks ago, and continue to work on the excavation. I think it looked like something straight out of Indiana Jones!
We settled in and got to meet our fellow passengers who were all fascinating people. We had people from Monaco, UK, France, Lithuania, Russia and the US in our little group of 22.
Our first sunset on the Nile.
Another amazing day at some of the lesser visited sites. Keep in mind these colors are over 3000 years old!
I will sort out what photos belong to the appropriate tombs, but in the meantime, please enjoy the magnificent of the tombs/structures. Keep in mind that these colors have been preserved for over 3000 years!
Fascinating and beautiful.
It’s my third trip here, but Eric’s first – so number 87 together!
We are spending a few days in Luxor before taking a Nile cruise. For as hectic as it is on the city streets, watching life on the Nile go by is very peaceful.
Karnak Temple is nothing short of awe inspiring.
We went for a short stroll this morning and scratched the surface. So much more has been uncovered and restored since I was here last.
Amazing that the colors are preserved (my laundry fades after three washes).
I am pretty sure this will be a 1000 plus photo trip!
The sun finally came out and we were able to enjoy the pool for the morning. We then revisited the Louvre at a much later (and much less crowded) hour and really had the opportunity to enjoy it.
We then headed to the other end of town to visit the Grand Mosque. Capable of holding 40000 worshipers, it it truly and engineering marvel.
They employed 3000 people and 38 engineering firms to complete it.
There are 1097 six sided marble columns in the Mosque, all inlaid with semi precious stones, such as lapis lazuli, red agate, green jade and mother of pearl.
