DAY 7 -- Falcons and Crocodiles

This morning we cruised to Edfu and the Temple of Horus, falcon-headed god of the sky. The City of Edfu is located on the west bank of the Nile between Esna and Aswan.

We left the boat for a short buggy ride through Edfu to the temple.

Along our route the street was lined with coffee shops.

This was our view from inside the buggy.

We were visiting during the winter, and the weather was perfect. I am sure during spring, summer and fall, these outdoor cafes were very popular with the Egyptians after dark as a respite from the heat.

As we traveled along in our buggy, we encountered many interesting sites.

Busy bread stores.

Traffic of all kinds.

I am not completely sure, but I think this truck has a painting of Christ giving water to the lands.

This young boy might be delivering dry cleaning.

The market place was very busy.

The many bread stores were doing big business this morning.

More bread.

These are tools for sale.

After we arrived, all the buggies lined up for the trip back to the boat.

Edfu flourished in ancient times. Today, the most important monument in the City of Edfu is the Temple of Horus, one of the most beautiful and preserved Temples in Egypt. Its origins likely date back to the Second Intermediate Period, but the actual Temple only dates back to Ptolemaic times during the reign of Cleopatra VII.

There was another long avenue leading up to the entrance pylons.

You can see how the city surrounded the Temple in 1956.

This is the inner courtyard.

This hieroglyphic shows a crowning ceremony with both of the upper and lower Egyptian crowns. Note how the carvings have started to show more of the human form. 

A battle scene with a chariot.

We are sitting at the base of the statue of Horus, the falcon-headed God.

Back on the boat, we had several other cruise ships tagging along behind us.

We passed this cruise ship.

In this panoramic view there are ships in front of us and behind us.

At one point we could clearly see the change in the landscape where irrigation was done and where the desert took over. It was as if someone drew a line in the sand.

I spotted this dredging barge and quickly snapped a shot and sent it back to grandson LW (by way of his mom BHB).  She texted back the he looked at it and said it was going to fall over and go under the water. LOL

During the afternoon cruise the chef had a cooking lesson while Hubby D and I enjoyed the scenery from the lounge chairs on the top deck.

There was a lot of conversation on the top deck. It was very comfortable to sit, sip wine and talk with our traveling friends.

Later as the sun was setting, we disembarked at Kom Ombo (hill of gold) to visit the Greco-Roman temple dedicated to Haroeris (Horus the Elder and the sun god) and Sobek (the crocodile god), who was considered by some ancient Egyptians to be the creator of the world.

The Kom Ombo Temple is unusual in that it is a double temple, with one side dedicated to the god Haroesis and the other side to Sobek. The design is almost perfectly symmetrical, with two side-by-side sanctuaries and two parallel passageways leading through the outer parts of the temple.

On the back wall of the temple exists the very first known representations of precise surgical tools. Some of these tools include suction caps, scalpels, bone saws, dental tools, medicine bottles, forceps, birthing chairs and forceps. The Egyptians claim they invented these tools (according to our guide).

In this wall relief we see Cleopatra III, Cleopatra II and Ptolemy VIII before Horus.

Cleopatra's cartouche was found in this temple along with carvings showing several generations of Cleopatra.

While there, we saw the mummified remains of several crocodiles that once basked along the ancient Nile shore, just as their descendants do today. 

Tonight was a very special evening, an Egyptian costume party. It was really fun and we all looked so wonderful.

Hubby D was a great King Tut. But I had to remind him Tut died when he was only 17 and probably did not have a beard.

DW and I had a lot of fun with our new friend JD.

Another wonderful and adventurous day on the Nile ends with much needed rest. Tomorrow we will arrive at our final destination on the Nile River, Aswan.

Cheers,
Brenda