Cruisin' on a sunny afternoon...

Trip Start Aug 15, 2010

Trip End Nov 18, 2010

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Presidential Nile Cruise

Flag of Egypt Edfu, Aswān, Egypt
Thursday, October 14, 2010

The Temple of Horus at Edfu is one of the most complete and well preserved temples from the Ptolomaic, or Greek, period in Egypt. There had been a temple at Edfu since the Old Kingdom however this structure was reconstructed centuries later. The Greeks reconstructed many temples when they conquered Egypt, mainly to show the population that they respected their gods and their beliefs and were therefore benign rulers. Construction of the temple was begun around 237 BCE and was not completed until the reign of Cleopatra VII, around 57 BCE

The Temple of Horus at Edfu

The Temple is HUGE and covered in amazing carvings and hieroglyphics. Some of the original colours are also visible.

The Holy of Holies- Edfu

The temple consists of a grand entrance gate, an open courtyard, two hypostyle (columned) halls and the holy of holies. The alter inside the holy of holies is made of solid granite and is much older than the main temple, probably dating from the original structure. The grey granite is so polished it looks silver!! In front of the alter is a boat the priests used to carry the statue of the gods.

Horus at Edfu

This temple is dedicated to Horus and there are four giant granite sculptures of the falcon god at the entrances. The temple was preserved because most of it was under the sand for millennia.

Origami Towels

We returned to the boat in time for lunch and set sail for Luxor. We had the rest of the day to laze about the boat. While we were out the crew had fun creating origami animals with our towels and we were all greeted by a menagerie on our beds.

Going down! Inside the Lock

Late in the afternoon we passed through the Esna Lock, which signaled the division between upper and lower Egypt. Even here men were trying to sell stuff and some serious bargaining took place - in fact someone on our boat bought a tablecloth as we traversed the lock with the item being thrown up onto the top deck!

I spent the afternoon in the pool and, after afternoon tea, retired to my cabin for a siesta.

The Gang a la Galabaya

In the evening there was an Egyptian Buffet and Galabaya party. I wore a traditional dress I’d bought in Aswan but didn’t stay long after dinner as the music was very loud (I’m such a nana!!) and we have a very early start tomorrow.

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