Today we fly to Luxor to begin the "cruise" part of our trip. We left the hotel at 6 a.m. for our 8 a.m. flight. But, as Walid says,"Egyptian time" which meant we really took off at 8:45 a.m.!! During the 50 minute flight we could watch the Eastern and Western Deserts and the very lush Nile Valley below. Lots of crops are grown in the Nile Valley - sugar cane, banana trees, date palms, grains. Very beautiful! Before going to our boat, we bussed to the Temple of Karnak. Now you have to understand that this is our first look at a temple and oh my goodness, NOTHING can prepare you for the sight. The oldest parts of this temple were built almost 2000 years before Christ. The pillars, stones, carvings, painting (that is still visible!), row of sphinx's. Can you imagine why we were stunned and speechless? In the Great Hypostyle Hall you could almost hear and feel the Pharaohs, their Queens and servants. When we were in the museum yesterday we saw statues & coffins & artifacts but this has brought it all to life. I don't think anyone could see this and not be affected 3500 - 4000 years after construction. Walid spoke to us at length on the way to the temple and as we progressed through explaining the politics of the time; construction methods; meaning of the papyrus shaped pillars, statues, painting, carvings...nothing was missed by him. Our Habibi does his very best to help us understand what we see and he makes sure we get the most of each site. By the Sacred Lake at the side of the Temple is a statue of a scarab beetle. The superstition is that if you walk around the scarab statue counter-clock wise 3 times and think of your heart's wish it will come true! So, of course we did just that and time will tell if the superstition works!
When we left the Temple we experienced our first real "shopping" opportunity. (Outside of the Citadel we did have a small taste of this.) The Egyptian vendors are VERY forceful! They toss or push into your arms their goods and start at a very high price for them. If you aren't interested to purchase you almost have to throw the items back at them. They are very adept at avoiding taking back their stuff. If you want to purchase you start countering with a very low price and so the bickering goes back and forth - "lady, lady, you break my heart" "lady, lady, just looking" "lady, lady, no hassle" "lady, lady, where you from - Canada Dry" "you come up - I'll come down" and so it goes... If you walk away after giving your final price they will follow you and say "ok, ok", and name the last price they said, as if you would forget what you offered. Often you will get the item for what you want to pay but they make it seem like you are stealing from them!
Now, off to our boat the MS Giselle! The Giselle is owned by Insight Travel and is very old world in look - lots of wood and charm. There are only 60 staterooms (maximum of 120 passengers) and all have a huge window. Central curving staircase goes from bottom level (dining room) up to 1st level (lobby and rooms) to 2nd and 3rd levels of rooms (our room is on the 2nd level). The 3rd level also has the lounge area and 2 small stores (jewellery and t-shirt/souvenir). From the 3rd level you can use a different small staircase to go to the outdoor sun deck which has covered and open lounging area, bar, and swimming pool. Our group is joined by 2 groups from other tour companies. Ok, so there is one thing about the boat I personally am not crazy about...I can't have an iron...now those of you who know me well, know that I am the ironing queen...I'm not sure how I will survive!!!
And so we cruise to Dendara today. Apparently the area between Luxor and Dendara is not overly safe (I can say this now because obviously we are back from Egypt safe and sound!!). This is an area of radical Coptic Christian and Shiite Muslim people and not all cruise boats come up this way. We have armed guards on board and they will stay with us until we sail back to Luxor tomorrow. During the night another cruise boat docked right next to us and we could see their armed guard on duty all night with his machine gun pointed out toward the river. A police boat came by regularly too during the night.
We had dinner on board and scrumptious it was! There is a very large kitchen staff who do a beautiful, yummy job! We got to know our group and of course, as always, it's easy to find kindred spirits. We had lots of fun getting to know Ian & Helen from Adelaide, Australia and 3 very wild and wacky ladies from Ontario - Sandra, Carol and Brenda! I can tell we are going to have loads of fun with these 5.
Tidbits from today:
- the area around Luxor is green; lots of people working in the fields; cattle, donkeys, goats, sheep - all very skinny; use donkeys to pull carts - not very many vehicles seen; lots of "rubbley" looking places
- view of the Nile Valley from the boat - homes along the banks look like they are right out of the Old Testament and are built right on the banks; families bath in...wash clothes and dishes in...play in...drink from...the Nile; cattle graze right alongside; lots of farm land; houses; herons; other birds; small towns; Mosques; Coptic churches; palm trees; banana trees
- At the end of the day, I sat by the huge window of our room and listened to the Nile flow by. This is a trip of a lifetime that words can't describe. It is very like being closer God and IN the bible - at least pictorially! This area is definitely centuries behind the 21st.
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