"Egypt is always herself, in all stages of her history." - Jean-Francois Champollion, 1820
A balloon ride over the temples of the West Bank at dawn. Sounds nice, doesn't it? That was what we got to do on an early morning while in Luxor. The baskets are huge, fitting up to 24 people. But everyone stands on the edge and gets a great view. We floated up to a thousand feet or so, then slowly sailed over fields and villages. Dogs were barking and donkeys braying as we floated over them. Soon, we were crossing the Nile and right by Karnak temple. The views were spectacular. After about an hour, the pilot landed us in a sugar cane field. Soon after, four curious children appeared...this was probably not something that happened every day.
Hatchepsut's temple...
It's not every day that a balloon full of foreign tourists lands in your sugar cane field.
"Rig your Boat, travel near and far, look for a wise partner, knock his door, seek his knowledge, welcome him in your home, this is how your people will prosper." - Amenophet, 2.500 B.C.
Back before the revolution in 2011, when tourism was at its height, there were over 350 cruise boats that sailed the Nile from Luxor to Aswan and back. Now, there are about 30. Ours is Le Fayan and it's a very nice boat. Our room is on the upper starboard side, so we have a great view of the Nile when we are docked. After touring the Luxor area, we started a five day cruise. For most of the day we sailed (well, we really aren't sailing as we have no sails) slowly up the Nile, past small villages with kids playing soccer in any flat, bare field they can find. Farmers tilling the land, huge water buffaloes dunking in the river, donkeys braying and goats bleating...it's all here.
A room with a view...
Greg, Joe, me and Boyd...
Tea time...
"Egypt is the gift of the Nile." - Herodotus, c. 450 BCE
At lunch, I was trying to use Boyd's cell phone as a hotspot, but it kept quitting on me. Outside the ship's window, I noticed that there was nothing but the river, palm trees, sand and mountains. Maybe a goat or two. I mentioned that we were in Bumblefuck, Egypt (one of my favorite expressions), not realizing we really WERE in Bumblefuck, Egypt, until Amy poked me in my ribs.
”By the half-light that strayed in through the portico, we could see vague outlines of a forest of giant columns rising out of the gloom below and vanishing into the gloom above. Beyond these again appeared shadowy vistas of successive halls leading away into depths of impenetrable darkness. It required no great courage to go down those stairs and explore those depths with a party of fellow travelers; but it would have been a gruesome place to venture into alone.” - Amelia Edwards, 'A Thousand Miles Up The Nile', 1876
Besides just cruising on the Nile, the highlights of the boat trip are the Ptolomaic temples of Edfu and Kom Ombo. Both were built in the 4th and 3rd Centuries BCE, when the Greeks ruled Egypt. Edfu is very much intact, mostly because after it was abandoned, sand blew in and eventually covered the temple about 3/4 to the top. Coptic Christians lived in it for awhile, leaving soot marks on the roof and destroying some of the carvings because they were heathen.
More pharaonic smiting...
Horus, who the temple is dedicated to (and who our tour group is named after)...
Our tour leader, Siranoush.
As usual, we are wandering away from the group.
Right before sunset we reached the temple of Kom Ombo. Like Edfu, it is Ptolomaic, built around the 3rd Century BCE. In the sunset light, with the moon rising behind temple, it was magical. Although much more in ruins than other temples, there are still many beautiful columns and inscriptions on the walls.
Joline and Mary...
The same view from David Roberts' 1840 lithograph...
Beautiful beautiful photos. What a great adventure!
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