Eternal Nile Day 6
Eternal Nile
DAY 6 - Thursday, December 2, 2004 - Cruise to Edfu, Visit Temple of Horus at Edfu & Sail to Kom Ombo
We woke at 7 AM and Gennie was really sick. She believes she has the flu. She stayed in our room for the whole day and by the late afternoon she was feeling a little better. The bad news is that three other women are also sick - all from our Jordan trip. The men have not come down with any of the symptoms - YET!
As the ship - River Hathon is owned by OAT, the passengers are all part of the OAT Eternal Nile tour. Our group - the green or Seti is one and the other, made up of those who did not go to Jordan, is the Yellow or Sunshine.
We have the whole ship to ourselves, 30 of us and two guides, and the crew is so accommodating. They go out of their way to help us. Some speak great English, others are very limited.
I showered and had a buffet breakfast on-board with the rest of our group. There seems to be little interaction between the two groups and some are really offended with us if we "invade their space." Too bad, as the fun is in meeting some of the people.
The other two from Colorado met up with us and we have spent some time talking. Barbara and Bob are from Denver. We left Etna at 5 AM and as we sailed, we plied the waters the Egyptians have been traveling upon for thousands of years. We could sun ourselves on deck, watch the flow of life along the Nile, or take a "refreshing" dip in the on-board pool.
At 10:30 our ship docked at Edfu beside another big river cruise ship but then had to move to another location. This way when we disembarked we went right to shore and not through another ship. We went ashore and were met by the corniche carriages.
Shahinaz gave me the umbrella of power to keep the group together. I went with Lionel and we were taken to the town center where we disembarked. When Shahinaz arrived we set off on foot to visit its enormous temple of Horus. We passed through a portion of the road that had vendors hawking their wares - clothing, jewelry, pottery and other knick-knacks.
We walked from the large sunny courtyard lined with columns to the dark inner recesses of the offering chambers. Almost entirely intact, with its decorated hieroglyphs and bas-reliefs, this is possibly the best-preserved temple in Egypt.
Ancient Egyptians believed that the temple was inhabited by the falcon-headed god, Horus, their divine protector. Annual coronation festivals were held to re-crown Horus, during which a falcon was released in his honor. This was really a massive temple.
Once we were given free time I took the opportunity to take some more photographs and then went to the entrance where I met Shahinaz and asked her to help me purchase a galabeya, long dress, for Gennie and I on the street. She negotiated with the vendors and helped me greatly - I did not have my professional negotiator with me today.
I then went through the area taking pictures of the Egyptian cotton materials hanging from the their stalls. These men were very aggressive - one even grabbed my arm to take me to his shop. That was not a smart move on his part. Another vendor tried to take Sylvia Emmons to the back of his shop but she would have no part in that.
Using the corniche again, we returned to the ship. The driver wanted another tip - but this time Lionel only gave him 5 LE instead of the LE10 I had given on the way there.
Once we were on board we cleaned up, I checked on Gennie and then went to a four course meal. I ate only two, and sparingly at that. While we were in the dining room we began to sail to Kom Ombo and the rest of the afternoon and into the evening, the ship maintained a southern course to arrive there a little after 7 PM where we docked for the night.
Once called Nubt, or "City of Gold," for its location on the caravan routes of gold miners, Kom Ombo remains a Nubian-style village with brightly colored houses, sugarcane fields, and orange groves.
We spent the afternoon on deck while others slept. Many of us on the upper deck were able to see the country side pass by. What is so spectacular is that the desert comes right to the river in many places.
There is no green vegetation zone. In other areas it goes inland about 5 miles. I did some reading, took a lot of shots of fishermen, farmers in their horse drawn carts and the mud homes on the banks. Later, we had a cooking lesson - okra, tomatoes, onions, garlic, and parsley.
At 5 PM I joined some others for tea and cookies and at 5:30 we had a history presentation on the pharaohs of Egypt, then the symbols of their deity and a little on the life of the average person in this country.
For dinner we enjoyed an Egyptian dinner, followed by a costume party on-board for which many of us dressed in the traditional Egyptian galabeya. There were some games we played, lots of laughter and good natured banter back and forth.
At 10 PM I was back in the room with Gennie looking a little better but still feeling the body aches of the flu.
Accommodations: Nile Cruise Ship M/S River Hathor Meals: B, L, D
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