Eternal Nile Day 7
Eternal Nile
DAY 7 - Friday, December 3, 2004 - Visit Kom Ombo, Sail to Kirchner Island
At 7 AM I was up and Gennie told me she felt better and would take a shower and dress up a bit. She still is eating little but Kiwi Fruit but the flu is on the decline. At 7:45 I went to breakfast and we were ready to leave for Kom Ombo, a complex within a stone's throw from the quay and the ship. It dominated the skyline of the area.
As we walked across the gangplank and walked to Kom Ombo, hawkers tried to sell us their goods. Their technique is very high pressure and it does turn off the tourists. Most of us walk through without making eye contact or looking at their wares.
As we entered the facility we saw other groups also trying to see the temples. These are Greco-Roman temples dramatically set on the riverbank at a bend on the Nile and this makes them original. This is Egypt's only double temple, with one side dedicated to the crocodile god, Sobek, and the other side to the falcon god, Horus.
The entire structure is unusual in that everything is doubled and perfectly symmetrical along the main axis: twin entrances, twin courts, and twin colonnades. We were given some free time to wander on our own and then we walked back to the M/S River Hathor.
We set sail for Aswan at 10 AM and had an opportunity to sit on deck and watch the scenery on the banks of the river. The changes are spectacular. When another cruise ship passes ours, our captain blows our horn and the other responds - I happened to be standing in front of one of these horns when they went off and I jumped a foot as I was so startled. I could not hear anything for about 10 minutes!
At 11:30 we met in the lounge where we were given a talk on the social, religious and political life of Egypt. There was a lot of questions and answers and was very enjoyable hour.
At 1 PM we had lunch and then at three we went to visit the Lord Kirchner's Botanical Gardens. We disembarked the ship on the river side, walked precariously down some steps to a waiting felucca.
We sailed up the Nile for about 3 miles and were let off on his island. Very quickly we saw that Friday is their holy day of rest as families, extended families, and groups of people were enjoying the serene environment to share time, food, and laughter with their close ones.
I had an opportunity to communicate with some people, arm wrestle with a security guard, and take pictures of people enjoying a beautiful day in Aswan. I am averaging over 250 pictures a day - sorting these will be a monumental task. At 4:30 we left the island and sailed back to the ship.
At 7 PM we had a Farewell Cocktail in the Lounge, received our instructions for leaving the ship tomorrow morning, and then had dinner at 7:30 followed by a Nubian folklore show.
These were really different with the cymbals players being the best. But they all make the tour of the boats moored here in Aswan so it was for only 30 minutes. We went to our rooms to pack and get ready for tomorrow. We spent the night moored in Aswan.
Accommodations: Nile Cruise Ship M/S River Hathor - - - Meals: B, L, D
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