Day Six-Kom Ombo Temple, the unfinished Obelisk, Aswan Dam, Philae Temple, and a felucca ride
Today was another very early day, especially after our forced late night last night. However, the walk to the temple felt good, and it was another amazing sight. This temple was completely buried in sand yet is the most well-preserved of all the temples in Egypt. It is the only one dedicated to two gods, Horus the elder (the falcon god) and Sobeck, the crocodile god of fertility. It was rebuilt twice, in 1400 BC and again by the Greeks in about 184 BC. Each of the columns had different tops which was a part of the Greek architecture.
The temple is famous for the mummified crocodiles. The guide shared that they discovered that the bites of scorpions and snakes could be cured with crocodile skin and the fat was used as a fertility remedy which also functioned like Viagra! One of the carvings was of women using the birthing chair and included all the medical instruments they created, many of which we are still using today such as forceps, injections,and dental pliers. We have been awed by the quality of their medical knowledge so many thousands of years ago. In some ways the medical profession seems to have not made a lot of progress.
There was a deep well called the Nile-ometer which measured the water level. During Pharaonic times, the people brought offerings, but interestingly, the Greeks changed that to taxes. The amount of these offerings or taxes was determined depending on the water level-if it was high and there were more crops, more was expected. If low, taxes were less.
It was also interesting to see the carvings representing the calendar which consisted of three seasons – drought, planting and harvest, and these changed every year. The year was divided into 4 months each, with each week having 10 days, totaling 360. The extra 5 days were used for festivals, so it is amazing that their calendar consisted of the same number of days as our current one.
Another interesting feature of their architecture was that they put small pieces of wood between each of the blocks in the temple and then poured water over them so that they would expand and there would be no space between them. In several places, we could still see small pieces of wood. These same techniques in the stones on the ground helped protect this temple during earthquakes.
Our next stop was the unfinished obelisk. The Aswan area was known for its abundance and high quality of granite, especially red granite. Queen Hatshepsut, to prove her power, wanted to build the tallest obelisk in the world, and they must always be made out of a single piece of granite. After they had gotten this one partway finished, they discovered a crack in it, so stopped their work. This huge structure has been lying there in the granite quarry for over 3000 years-amazing to think they could sculpt and then move a piece this huge without any of the tools we have today. When they did move these huge sculptures, they put them on a boat on the Nile and then waited for the water to rise so they wouldn’t sink the boat.
Then we went to the old dam and then the high dam built in cooperation with the Soviet Union in the 1960s. When they built the dam, thousands of Nubians were displaced. Also, several of the temples had to be moved in order to preserve them. Philae, our next stop, was one of those. To get to this temple we had to take a small, rather rickety motor boat, No sooner had we left the dock than they took out their wares, and of course, we all bought something!
Amazingly, this huge temple was completely taken down and then reassembled on this island before the dam flooded everything. The Coptic Christians used this temple later and unfortunately defaced many of the images on the columns and walls. One could not imagine HOW this huge a structure could ever be moved, let alone built! This temple was built to honor Isis, the goddess of music, art, beauty, and love. The setting on an island was absolutely spectacular and even to this day, it can only be reached my boat.
The highlight of the day was a felucca ride down the Nile with our fun group. The crew of the ship had a wonderful time singing and dancing. The Nubian Captain, with his mischievous smile (in anticipation of more sales to the gullible tourists), soon brought out HIS wares, and yet again, we succumbed to his charms! 😉 As we watched the beautiful sunset from the boat, one of the highlights was seeing the Old Cataract Hotel where Agatha Christie wrote her famous novel, “Death on the Nile.” This used to be one of the palaces of King Farouk, and on our next trip to Egypt, we plan to stay here!
One of the characters we met was an older woman and her husband from the US. Both were Fulbright scholars which she mentioned several times, and she revealed her true colors on the felucca when she began to order everyone around, including the boat captain! I was thankful that she was sitting next to Barb and not me because she talked non-stop the whole trip. Her husband was deaf, but we wondered if that were only a ploy to keep her quiet. 😉 She also told us she used to be a clown. We’ve had lots of laughs on this trip.
That night at dinner many passengers wore their Egyptian costumes. You will see a picture of Barb and me in our lovely cotton embroidered galabiyyas.
Day Seven – Flight from Aswan to Cairo
We had another early morning – up at 6:00, taxi at 7:00. However, we are learning that “Egyptian time” is not quite the same as real time! Our taxi was an experience – the passenger door on one side would not open and Barb had to hold onto the seat on her side because the door on that side would not close. The seat was so narrow that even I had to sit sideways, and though ramshackle, the inside of the cab was all covered with a matching navy and gold middle eastern pattern-what a contrast it was.
The security at the airport was amazing, probably because of the recent terrorist attacks as well as the critical importance of the dam to this whole country. At the first stop about half a mile away, the driver had to relinquish two different IDs and then pay a small tax to enter. At the next checkpoint, he had to give up another form of ID, all to be picked up on his departure. When we got to the terminal, we were met by men in blue and yellow uniforms who nearly fought over taking our bags. We tipped them. Then when the bags were inside the airport building, another crew took over until we got through security, and we had to tip them. After that another man took the bags to the check-in station and he wanted a tip, and finally, the man who put the tags on the bags asked for another tip – all in all, it cost us $10 in singles to get our bags on the plane (we hope!) Working here must be a plumb job! We laughed at the signs at security. Some of the prohibited items listed were “spears, spiral devices for removing corks from bottles, instruments for killing cattle, and shot guns”-not exactly comforting for foreign travelers! We also have noticed that you do not have to take off shoes, take computers out, or show pouches of liquids. We have both been really bothered by the smoke everywhere – a good thing to remember for future is to ask if there are non-smoking cruises.
It was was so WONDERFUl to be met at the airport by the Emeco men and not having to worry about anything, including getting registered at the hotel. Shadee took us to the Executive Lounge on the 30th floor where we could see the pyramids in the distance and finally connect to email. After a lovely lunch, we walked around the attached mall and especially noticed that most of the shops contained men’s clothing, something peculiar to this culture and probably a good thing as our suitcases are already overflowing. At this writing we are still debating going to the Cairo Film Festival to see “The Last Kiss”, so we will report in the morning our decision.
