EGYPT – Nile Cruise, Day 1

As regular readers of the blog will know, I don’t like long flights or boats so a cruise along the Nile complete with felucca rides and the dodgy Egyptian ferries doesn’t seem the obvious choice, but what a fabulous trip!



The long flight on a Monarch charter (just under 6 hours) was just about as hideous as I’d imagined, but as we came in to land over Luxor, we were treated to a fabulous sunset through the clouds, with a view of the Nile below, and I knew we’d made the right choice.



After a scrummy buffet breakfast onboard, we set off for our first visit which was Karnak Temple. It’s difficult to describe the sheer size of the monuments in Egypt and I’m sure I would have been struck with awe if my attention hasn’t been caught by the group of men comparing machine guns from four random armchairs in front of the temple. EEK in capitals.



Karnak is a vast open-air museum and the largest ancient religious site in the world. Apparently it is also the second most visited historical site in Egypt, but we’d already realised that our guide was a bit of a cretin, so who knows!



All the temples in Egypt follow the same general layout; the pylon which is basically the exterior of the temple and which is nearly always covered with scenes of battle between the Pharoah and his enemies and the God that protects him. Inside is an open courtyard and the Hypostyle Hall which is one of the most impressive we saw of all the temples.



The Hypostyle Hall is a collection of 134 columns arranged in 16 rows, all of which have been decorated with Hieroglyphics and colourful designs. Beyond this is the Sanctuary, but it looked like it’d been built by Corsican builders so I was very wary of standing inside just in case!!



After out guided tour, we had free time to wander about and just drink in the atmosphere. Like in France, these are living monuments so you can touch them and walk amongst them which makes the whole thing seem somehow more real.



As we left, we past the line of Cryospinx which I must have noticed when we went in, but I suspect my attention was diverted elsewhere. We learnt that statues are only referred to as Sphinx when they have the body of a lion and the head of a human, so as these had lion bodies but sheep’s heads, they are called Cryosphinx.



Back on the coach, we saw our first glimpse of the sunset over the Nile on our way to the Luxor Temple. We’d seen this temple on our way to Karnak earlier in the day, but hadn’t been overly impressed. However, in the evening when the whole place was lit up it was something else, and although it is vastly smaller than Karnak, the Luxor Temple proved to be one of my favourites.



The temple was built by Ramses II and like Karnak, there is a decorated exterior, open courtyard lined with identical columns and immense colossi (statues of the pharaoh). The place was really busy and I got told off by the guide for lagging behind to take photos which weren’t full of lemmings (other tourists).



Opposite the temple is the Avenue des Sphinx which originally connected the Luxor Temple and Karnak some 3km away and would have included approximately two thousand sphinx. These days, the avenue only runs for a few hundred metres but is still impressive, and I managed to get a really moody shot of one of the statues.



Of course, in front of the temple were the sellers who accost you at any given opportunity. Years ago, I noticed that every item in Monsoon costs £55 no matter what it is, and the same principle applies in Egypt where everything seems to cost 10 Egyptian pounds!



Although it wasn’t late when we left Luxor, we were all shattered after all the travelling the day before and the early start for Karnak, so we were looking forward to dinner and the entertainment which we were told would be a Whirling Dervish.



Two blokes - one rather too portly to be prancing about - started with some strange Tommy Cooper ‘Just like that’ style dancing by two blokes in Fez hats who kept popping off to change clothes. I was starting to get a bit bored, but eventually one of them returned in his whirling dervish outfit and put on an impressive show.

EGYPT – Nile Cruise, Day 3

We’d sailed on during the night and arrived at Edfu whilst I was soundly snoring, so I was delighted when I threw back the curtains and caught a glimpse of Edfu with it’s bazaar style shops and horse drawn carriages. I was slightly less delighted when I realised that there were loads of Egyptian men ogling me in my pyjamas! Ho-hum.



After breakfast, we set off again to visit the Edfu Temple. This is the Temple of Horus, the Falcon God and son of Isis. It was certainly a beautiful place and the the colours against the blue skies were amazing.



By now, I was already getting a little bit temple’d-out, so my attention turned to more modern interests and I decided to stalk a few locals for some real life photos





It was whilst I was sneaking around to get these photos without being asked for money as an appearance fee that I was approached by a bloke in an unfeasibly shiny suit (complete with gun) and lead off behind one of the smaller structures where the colourful decorations where still visible.



He seemed to be telling me that this was the birth house of a horse’s son, but I suppose it could also have been Horus’s son – it was a bit tricky to hear properly with his thick accent and my selective deafness.



I’d already had one marriage proposal on the boat so after getting dragged off at the temple, we still had to run the gauntlet of the sellers when we left – what joy. They are held back by barriers with armed police to enforce their confinement but it just means that they are even more pushy whilst you are trying to escape.



One of the highlights of my trip was actually just watching the world pass by whilst we were on the coach between the boat and various visits. We saw pavement cafes with patrons in a mix of traditional galabeyas sitting next to men in tracksuits and donkey carts travelling alongside sleek people carriers with blacked out windows.



The strangest sight was probably a bloke on a donkey cart with no shoes, chatting on his mobile phone. I think there is something wrong with his priorities there!



After an afternoon slowly drifting down the Nile, it was time for another illuminated night-time temple visit. This time it was Kom Ombo, which is unique because its 'double' design meant that there were courts, halls, sanctuaries and rooms duplicated for two sets of gods; Sobek & Horus.



For once, Yahya held my attention when he explained the healing powers of Horus and the use of his symbol as an indicator of measurements. Apparently, the rudimentary lines of the symbol of the eye are what lead to the modern Rx symbol used on prescriptions.



We were once again given free time to explore after our guided visit and as we were just a short walk from the quai, told to make out own way back to the boat so that those who wanted to do a spot of haggling with the sellers could indulge themselves.



Because there is never enough space for all the boats to park, they are often lined up 4 or 5 deep and you have to walk through to other boats to get to the shore. I was busy chatting as we crossed over the gang plank and through the first couple of boats, and it was only once we tried to cross from the last boat to ours that I realised it wasn’t there! Luckily I stopped short of walking straight into the Nile, but it was a close thing. Our boat had moved further down whilst we were our exploring and we’d missed the little bloke with the sign where we’d been chatting – d’Oh!

EGYPT – Nile Cruise, Day 4

Anther day and another early start – yawn – this time from Aswan. This morning we were off on a ferry ride to the Philae Temple, and the Egypt of my imagination.



Philae is actually on an island, so after some cunning evasion tactics to avoid the sellers (shaking my head instead of saying ‘no’ so they don’t know what nationality I am), we hopped onto some seriously dodgy looking ferries to take us over the island.



Unfortunately, two of the sellers were allowed to ride with us so we were a captive audience, but we did bag the bargain of the day with 12 colourful bracelets for £1 (or 10 Egyptian pounds – what a surprise!).



After our guided tour, we had free time to wander about and I was off and running to get as many fabulous shots as I could. What was nice about this temple was the surrounding scenery that made a fabulous backdrop; bright white and vibrant pink bouganvillia, and the water behind as well as the odd flea-bitten moggy sunbathing on the warm stones.



Apparently Philae is one of the islands that was flooded when the Aswan Dam was made and the temple now stands on the island of Agilika just opposite. I’d wandered down to look across to the original site when one of the policemen beckoned me to one side. He lead me off behind one of the old ruins and seemed to be heading into the bushes so I decided that I was much more interested in the main temple in the other direction and made a quick getaway!



The other curiosity at Philae is Trajans Kiosk which is a separate temple within the grounds. Yahya told us that it used to be submerged almost entirely and when he was a boy (a very long while ago!) they used to row boats in between the capitals of the columns because the water was so high – what a fabulous memory to have.



As we arrived back on the mainland, we spotted a group of tourists in high viz lifejackets. All became clear when we saw the Saga flag waving at the front of the group so we all laughed smugly to ourselves, but devine retribution wasn’t far away that evening…



We pushed our way through the sellers who clammering for our attention within the fenced area, but these were a lot less persistent than the others we’d encountered so far. There were loads of them including small kids who ran after us shouting ‘Luvly Jubbly’ and ‘See you later alligator’. Everything they had was 10 Egyptian pounds!



Without further ado it was off to the Aswan High Dam which was responsible for flooding the original site of Philae as well as Abu Simbel and other temples in it’s path. I suppose this is an amazing achievement of modern science but honestly, I was more interested in the yellow flowers.



After lunch we set off for our felucca ride - did I mention I don’t like boats?? We walked along the quay and down towards what looked like a few bits of wood with a sail – eek! Even the colourful ferries moored next to us started to look more robust and I was seriously concerned as we set off with way more people than I’m sure is strictly legal!





Actually, despite my initial reservations, it turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip. We bobbed along gently in the breeze taking in all the wildlife and the sights such as the Nubian island in the middle of the Nile. Of course it wasn’t long before one of the crew got out his collection of bracelets and beads for us to buy as well as wooden crocodiles. I’d forgotten about those…



We’d chosen one of the optional excursions to the botanical gardens and then Mango island. The botanical gardens weren’t as interesting or colourful as I’d imagined, but they were worth a look if only for the gorgeous little kittens which seem to have taken over the island.



There was a huge collection of trees including one that looked like it was made of curtains, but not many flowers which I prefer. We did also see a strange looking bird that had a long thin beak like a woodpecker. One of our group suggested we tempt over one of the cats so we could get a photo of it in flight – how mean!





We only stayed 45 minutes or so at the Botanical gardens but that was long enough for me, but it wasn’t until we were leaving that I realised there was a huge section we’d missed – what a pair of wallies.



Mango Island was our next stop where we were to be greeted with a glass of Mango juice and then have some have traditional Nubian coffee and cake overlooking the Nile.



We had a few minutes free time and although it wasn’t long enough to wander far, I did come across a superb water pitcher that might have been in my handbag if it hadn’t been so enormous!



We were also allowed to help ourselves to citrus fruit from the trees, but as fresh fruit was one of the mainstays of the buffet onboard, I didn’t bother. However, the highlight of my afternoon was passing the camel caravan.



I wish I wasn’t such a cowardy custard as there was an optional excursion later in the week of a camel ride with a visit to a traditional family house. Unfortunately, I am terrified of the beasts – even more so when I realised they were fully grown Arabian camels rather than the babies we’d seen in Morocco. Eek to say the least.



When we got back to the quay just beside our boat, the MS Fleurette, there was a rather heated exchange between our guide and the policeman who pushed us back out on the water and wouldn’t let us dock. Fortunately, a quick call to the boat and we found ourselves climbing up onto the roof of our ferry and making a daring leap onto the wrong side of the boat like something out of Pirates of the Caribbean (our tour leader even had the Jack Sparrow style teeth)!



Darkness comes early in Egypt in the winter, so it was only 5pm as we made our way back to Philae for the sound and light show. The white boats looked stunning against the inky black background, and lent the ride across to the island a thrilling quality.



The temple at night was beautiful with all the etchings and columns lit up in shades of red, gold and blue, but I can’t say I was that enthralled by the storytelling. The (vocal) acting was of a quality last seen in Crossroads and just wasn’t gripping. Perhaps we were disappointed because we’d only visited that morning and heard virtually the same things, but this is one to miss in my book.



It was on the way back that we were to all pay penance for laughing at the Saga group earlier in the day when our boat started to cough and splutter only a few minutes into the journey back to the mainland. All sorts of nightmare scenarios involving crocodiles, sea creatures (mythical and geographically impossible) and the diseases likely to be caused by drinking untreated Nile water were discussed before we finally limped back to port. PHEW.

At dinner, we somehow got onto the subject of the most common time to die which apparently is 3:33am. As we were due for a 3am wake up call the next morning for our trip to Abu Simbel, we were quite relieved that the early start might save our lives. Rick thought that when the call came through, we should 'choose life' which just goes to show which era we grew up in!

EGYPT – Nile Cruise, Day 5

After a late’ish night at Philae, the last thing I wanted to do was get up at 3am for breakfast and an early start to Abu Simbel, but it was too late to back out now.



We’d been told that the journey would take about 2½ hours but that before that, we had to go to the meeting point for the convoy as we’d all travel together with an armed guard on each coach ‘for our security’. Er, OK then… It was really quite disconcerting to see them checking the buses with sniffer dogs and anti-explosives wands, and even more worrying when a bloke with a machine gun got on, but it was 4am so I soon forgot them and went to sleep.



The night before, we’d been a bit worried about the threat of attack in the convoy so we’d formulated two plans; a) declare ourselves to be the son of God or b) announce that we had Stockholm syndrome and start speaking like we’d had one too many ‘I bloody love you I do’. I wasn’t sure either would work so I was relieved when Yahya woke us to see the sunrise over the desert, and it wasn’t long before we arrived at Abu Simbel.



This is truly one of the most amazing places I have ever seen and an absolute ‘must see’ for anyone going to Egypt. Apparently, if you wanted to be king in ancient Egypt, all you had to do was declare yourself to be the son of God (even if you were a woman), and they would say ‘Oh alright then’ and hand over the kingdom.



Ramses II went one step further and declared himself to be not only the son of a God, but a God as well which is why the colossal statues of himself are on the outside. This is a priviledge normally reserved for Gods, so he just declared himself to be one!



It’s just impossible to describe the sheer size of the main temple and even when you are there, it seems almost like a film set. Photos aren’t allowed inside – drats – but like most places in Egypt, a few Egyptian pounds (10?) goes a long way to getting the rules relaxed when there aren’t too many people around. Unfortunately for us, it was pretty busy so I had to content myself with outside photos.

One of the amazing things about Abu Simbel is that the ancient Egyptian architects positioned the temple in such a way that twice a year the rays of the sun would shine through the temple to the sanctuary and illuminate three of the four Gods on the back wall (excluding the statue of the God Ptah, the god of darkness and the underworld who always remains in the dark). These dates were allegedly the king's birthday and coronation day. The temple had to be moved to avoid being flooded by the Aswan Dam and apparently the light now shines through one day later than it did originally. They were a clever lot these Egyptians!



The second temple is dedicated to two of his wives and some of his sons, but he had so many – it is alleged that he had over 200 - it's not surprising that I can’t remember their names!!

It was on the way out that I was touched up and ripped off in the same transaction; 2 for the price of 1 (the price of course being 10 Egyptian pounds). We set off again in our convoy passing some amazing sights such as the lone fire truck, and a street market that seemed to be taking place in the middle of nowhere.





We were still all super sleepy after our 3am start, so we settled in for a snooze on the way home only to be disturbed by Yahya so that we could look at the Mirage. It did look for all the world like a lake in the middle of the desert but try as we might, it wouldn’t come out on the photos.



On the journey back, we stopped at a perfume factory where we watched the bloke making the hand-blown glass perfume bottles before we were invited inside to try and obviously buy. The tiny bottles were absolutely gorgeous and each one a little work of art.



They let us try lots of different perfumes which form the basis of many famous names and makes which they had cunning disguised so they can’t be caught out; Chanel 5 became 5 secrets, Nina Ricci became Nefertiti and so on. I would have been quite tempted to buy if they’d started at 10 Egyptian Pounds, but sadly the essential oils and perfumes started at a whopping 150 EGP which sounds a lot but is actually only about 20 squid.



Saturday night was ‘Egyptian Night’ on the boat so we all duly dressed up in our Galabeyas which is the name for the traditional Egyptian dresses. The bloke on the boat selling these has a right little goldmine as nearly everyone got into the spirit of the thing although the beautiful cotton dresses did cost more than 10 Egyptian pounds!



They even offered a make up service for the men and women, which I sensibly declined.