Day 6 - Sunday, February 25th

We moored in Edfu during the night and were woken to the call to Mosque! We were the first boat to moor and so we were closest to shore. The view was great! The mosque, shops, horses and carriages, some birds on the shore. The day is sunny and bright, whatever was in the air yesterday is gone.

Our first temple visit of the day is to the Temple of Horus. Horus was the son of Osiris and Isis who were the children of Geb (earth) and Nut (sky). Horus is one of the most famous gods of Ancient Egypt - he was the god of the sky, a symbol of divine kingship, and the protector of the ruling king. Every pharaoh was an incarnation of the falcon-headed Horus, who according to legend conquered Seth, the evil god of Upper Egypt. Seth, the god of turmoil and confusion, murdered Osiris, Horus' father. Horus avenged his father's death and so became the god of order and justice. Therefore the pharaoh in Ancient Egypt became Horus on earth, the ruler of the two lands - Upper and Lower Egypt. During one of the many fights that Horus fought against Seth, he lost an eye. This "Eye of Horus" has become the symbol of victory over evil. Now I'm sure you are asking yourself why I've gone into such detail about Horus...well...the reason is...Les has decided that Horus is his favorite god and I'm sure all of you will hear and see a lot of Horus in the years to come! (Think new tattoo!!)

The Temple of Horus is a relatively new temple - construction started only about 2100 years ago - in 237 BC and continued to about 51 BC. The pylons (front walls) of this temple are so impressive with the sunken reliefs still so very clear. The statue of Horus (which is inside the temple walls) as a falcon, is the picture that I've put on the blog announcing our return to the UAE from Egypt.

We had time to "shop" after leaving the temple. Lots of vendors in this area - they know where to go for optimum exposure to us bargain hunting tourists! At the beginning of our tour I was a bit saddened by the fact that we weren't getting a lot of shopping time. But as the days have gone by, I have come to understand and to thank our Habibi for the the very short amounts of time he allows us to be "harassed" by the vendors! It is so very overwhelming to be constantly pushed and prodded and, for lack of a better word, harassed, by the vendors that short spurts of time in their vicinity is more than enough. As you walk by their booths, you can't even slow down without being harangued. And don't touch anything - you might just as well buy it then - "no" does not mean "no" to these guys! But if you keep a sense of humour and are firm and just walk away sometimes they got the hint! A half hour of shopping was always more than enough, after that amount of time, we were tired out and losing our hold on that sense of humour!! One thing I noticed all over Egypt is that Les' tattoos got a lot of notice and a lot of fearful respect. I think they made some people afraid of him and always when he said "no" they got it!

Our afternoon was spent cruising to Kom Ombo. We sat on deck, listened to classical music and watched Egypt float by. (Edvard Grieg's, "Peer Gynt" played at one point!!)

On arrival in Kom Ombo, we visited the Temple of Kom Ombo. This temple building is totally symmetrical with 2 entrances, 2 halls, & 2 sanctuaries because it is dedicated to 2 gods - the left side to the falcon god "Horus the Elder" & the right side to the local crocodile god "Sobek". It is a lovely sight in the evening and the shadows and lighting made the story our Habibi told us of how the High Priest at the time used "smoke and mirrors" to get more money from the Pharaoh much more interesting!!

This was the evening for our traditional Egyptian food, entertainment and fun! We all changed into galabeas (Egyptian clothing). Our robes and headdresses made us feel very Egyptian and we all had a great time! The food was fabulous, as always, but it was all Egyptian - lamb, rice, kofta, and much more, with the famous "om ali" for dessert. The crew entertained us with Egyptian singing and music, we played a few games, conga danced our way around the lounge, laughed lots and had a great evening.

Tidbits for the day

• again Walid (our Habibi) explained the differences in the temples we saw today compared to other temples we've seen - and what makes these ones important - and what are the most important things to notice
• life on the Nile south of Luxor is different than north - here in the south more vehicles, houses, factories & garbage can be seen
• we mostly have to pay to use the toilets - always a woman at the door with the toilet paper in one hand and the other out for an Egyptian pound (really only about 20 cents)