Cruising the Nile

This is the fourth post in a series of four about my March 2023 trip to Egypt. The first blog post covered our delightful stop in Zurich (read about that here) and the second our first few days in Cairo, available here. The third focused on getting from Cairo to Luxor, onto our Nile River cruise and the rich archeological treasures around Luxor, that link is here. This final one will be about our last few days on the Nile cruise before we headed home. The entire trip (other than our stay in Zurich) was arranged through a travel company so these blogs have been less focused on logistics advice and things to see/do/eat than some of my others. All of that was expertly taken care of for us.

Temple of Philae

After overnighting in Esna (we did not see anything in the town), the following day after breakfast we traveled up the Nile (towards Sudan) to our next stop which was the town of Edfu and its famous temple. After docking, we started our journey to the temple in a horse-drawn carriage. While this mode of transportation seemed to be the common tourist “thing to do”, I really didn't care for it. It seemed pretty clear to me that the horses weren't the most well treated, the drivers were surly (we actually saw a fight between two of them), and the outstretched hands for tips were plentiful. It was way too cliche for me.

Horse and carriage ride in Edfu

The temple at Edfu itself was pretty inspiring, it's dedicated to the god Horus, one of the main gods of the trinity of Isis, Osiris and Horus. This site is where Horus defeated the evil brother of his father Osiris (Seth) and brought peace to the world and it is one of the largest Ancient Egyptian Temples, The temple (and most of what we would see from here on out) was built much later than the other sites we had so far visited, it was started about 240 BC., during the Ptolemaic period. Like many of the temples, it was used over time as houses of worship for other religions and there were clear examples of Egyptian symbols being erased away in favor of Christian ones. The main hall also had a blacked ceiling from years of soot accumulation, some from fires thought to be from burning "pegan" relics.

Temple of Horus in Edfu

After the Temple of Horus, we returned to the boat (the incredible Sonesta Sun Goddess) and enjoyed a lovely barbecue lunch on the top deck of the boat and an afternoon of reading as we set sail again. Our destination this time was the town of Kom Ombo for an evening tour of the temple there. The primary temple here is one unusually dedicated to two gods - Sobek and Haroeris. Sobek was the God of the Nile River and Haroeris is an earlier form of the god Horus. This temple is split down the middle with each side being a mirror image of the other - two entrances and perfectly symmetrical architecture on both sides. It was really beautiful to see the temple lit up a night. Kom Ombo is also known for its Crocodile Museum. The crocodile was an important animal (and god) to the ancient Egyptians, representing strength, agility and the importance of the Nile River to daily life. This small museum was so interesting for the various ways in which the animal was represented and worshiped. I loved seeing all the mummified crocodiles - adults and babies both. After our evening of sightseeing, we returned to the ship to enjoy a galabeya party. The galabeya is a traditional long, loose garment worn by the communities along the Nile. Most of the guests got into the spirit by wearing the costume and enjoying the music and dancing.

Cruising the Nile between Edfu and Kom Ombo

Temple of Kom Ombo

Crocodile Museum

Our last full day on the Nile cruise was spent in and around Aswan. Famed for the dam (technically the Aswan High Dam) that created Lake Nasser, in ancient Egyptian times it was an outpost of the Egyptian state on the Nubian border. After breakfast on the ship, the day began with a drive to the dam itself, a modern marvel built in cooperation with the U.S.S.R. (there is a monument to this cooperation), to help manage and control the annual flooding of the Nile. From the top of the dam, the wall drops steeply to power stations and the valley floor below, while to the south Lake Nassar stretches away as far as the eye can see. The controlling of the flooding has been a blessing and a curse for the Egyptian people, bringing much more order to agriculture and life in general, but also creating a number of water-management and economic issues for the people. The dam also prevented most of the crocodiles from passing further down the Nile so the lake is full of them!

Aswan High Dam

At Aswan we took another boat from a very, very crowded dock to the Island/Temple of Philae. There were tons of small tourist passenger boats with tires strapped onto their sides and everyone was jockeying for position left and right. It felt like a big water bumper cars ride. The temple complex was actually moved to higher ground when then dam was built and was reconstructed block by block by UNESCO and the Egyptian government. The temple itself is important because it was the center for the cult of Isis whose worship spread far and wide in the Roman Empire and was Christianity's main rival between the 3rd and 5th centuries. The island setting and the architecture of the buildings made for a beautiful combination, one of our favorites.

Separated by centuries

Bumper boats to the Temple of Philae

The lovely Temple of Philae complex

Between the Dam and the town of Aswan lie ancient quarries, where the pharaohs obtained the rock for their building projects. In one of these there is a half-hewn obelisk, abandoned when much of the quarrying had already been completed, but the obelisk, carved as a single block, was still attached to the bedrock. You could see many spots were rock had been carved and it was fascinating to get insights into this amazing engineering process. After this short visit, we stopped into a store selling Egyptian-cotton clothing. We picked up a few shirts at good prices, really one of the only shopping experiences we had.

Ancient quarry and forgotten obelisk

We returned to the Sun Goddess for our last buffet lunch on board and then shortly after that departed again for a cruise on a smaller, traditional boat called a felucca. These wooden sailing vessels hold about 10 passengers and crew and, while still a popular mode of transportation for locals, are frequently used for slower paced tourist excursions. We sailed along the Nile around the grey boulders of Elephantine Island and saw the plunging dunes of the Sahara as they cascaded into the river. As we sailed, two young boys on a paddleboard came alongside the boat and grabbed onto it, allowing the boat to pull them along as they sung us a song. A clever stunt to earn a few bucks, it was entertaining, and they succeeded. We also passed by the beautiful Kitchener's Island, named after a counsel-general of Egypt and now home to a magnificent botanical garden which he created. This hour or so cruise was the perfectly relaxing way to spend our last free time in Egypt. After the outing, we returned to the ship for an afternoon tea followed by dinner and entertainment with Nubian musicians and dancing.

Cruising the Nile

Last night on board the Sun Goddess

We departed the ship early on Friday and headed to the small Aswan airport for our short flight back to Cairo. We'd gotten an upgrade to the business-class section on this EgyptAir flight. While certainly not needed for this short hop, it was nice to have a little extra leg room and space so we could rest, given the early hour. The tour company (Audley Travel) had arranged for us to have day rooms at the Le Meridien hotel at the airport. The travelers' hotel was very conveniently located across from the airport and connected via a covered walkway so it could not have been better suited. We checked into our rooms, freshened up quickly and had a last lunch with our friends before our separate departures. Our flight back to Washington, DC connected through Zurich again though this time we had no opportunity to do anything other than sleep. We also stayed at a very convenient airport hotel, directly across from the terminal again, this time in the Hyatt Place Zurich Airport the Circle. It was great to have an opportunity to sleep and wake up refreshed for the United Airlines flight from Zurich to DC.

Le Meredien Cairo Airport

So many folks have told me that Egypt is on their bucket list but also that they are a little nervous about it. We had an absolutely wonderful time, and it was indeed magical and awesome to see so much sophisticated history and culture. We never once felt unsafe or worried about our surroundings. I do think it's wise to go with a tour company of some type, but I would not hesitate about doing it again. It was so well worth it.