Jabal al Qūşī

We woke this morning to find that we were cruising along, almost silently and very smoothly. An early breakfast to be ready to leave at 8am….early starts beat the later heat, and maybe the worst of the crowds. Docked at Kom Ombo where we could walk to the temple. Amazing as usual….huge and carved with stories of the carvings. Back to the boat and we floated on, relaxing on the sundeck (in the shade!) reading and watching the banks of the river. The banks are very lush and then give way to desert before very long. Very peaceful…

After lunch we assembled again and we arrived at Edfu where there is a very spectacular temple to Horus, the falcon god. The second biggest after Karnak and just fabulous…every surface covered with carvings, some defaced by Christians trying to get rid of idols while they were sheltering from persecution themselves…and we still see graffiti from the 1800s every now and then - names and dates…! By the time we were admiring the temple of Horus is was very hot. The temple is quite a way from the boat docks and tourists have to ride in a horse and cart to get there!! This is quite a precarious experience, and you bump along the very uneven dirt roads, but all part of the tapestry and fun…

Now back and relaxing with a glass of wine…tonight sometime we dock at Luxor. Those going on a hot air balloon will again get up around 3am (not us!!). Tomorrow we start to see all the gems around Luxor.Read more