Egypt. Edfu to Luxor. 4 Night Nile Cruise. Day Three. March 2010.
Once again it was an early wake up call and early start to the Temple at Edfu.
Along the dock were numerous Horse drawn buggies, and I thought we would be going to the Temple in one of these vehicles, but we went by more conventional means, driving through the town the small town of Edfu in an air-conditioned coach.
The Temple is dedicated to Horus.
Who is usually depicted as a falcon-headed man. 
The Temple is billed as the most completely preserved Temple in Egypt. The preservation had been attributed to the fact that , it was buried up to its lintels in sand, with homes built over the top, until it was excavated by Auguste Mariette in the 1860s. The sand protected the monument over the years, leaving it very well preserved today.
It is a magnificent site, and the fact that the roof is still complete gives it a very different atmosphere than other temples.
All to soon we were back on the boat and setting sail for Luxor. We had to pass through the lock at Edfu, we had been informed that this could be a long drawn out process and may take hours. It took all of 10 minutes and happened whilst we were having lunch so I did not get any photos.
After a relaxing afternoon on the Sun Deck, enjoying afternoon tea (we only just had lunch!) we approached and arrived in Luxor.
Needing to find a Bank, we strolled along the riverside passing the Mummification Museum. This sparked Sarah’s interest, so once we had topped up our funds we paid the 50 E£ each and went in.
The museum was small, and at first I think Sarah was a little disappointed in the seemingly limited displays. But, once you took your time and took a closer look at what was in the museum, a mummified human, baboon, crocodile, ibis etc and the implements and methods used to achieve the results, it was very interesting. If you have an hour to spare I think it is a worthwhile visit.
After yet another dinner, it was time to enjoy a Belly Dancing Show. Both the Belly Dancer and Whirling Dervish that provided the entertainment were fantastic and I was pleased the whole boat managed to stay up to watch them, the bar did not do a lot of business though, with both the large groups of Americans drinking only water! Maybe it was the thought of the 04.30 wake up call in the morning, as we sank more of those delicious
G &Ts we seemed to have forgotten about that?
Along the dock were numerous Horse drawn buggies, and I thought we would be going to the Temple in one of these vehicles, but we went by more conventional means, driving through the town the small town of Edfu in an air-conditioned coach.The Temple is dedicated to Horus.
Who is usually depicted as a falcon-headed man. The Temple is billed as the most completely preserved Temple in Egypt. The preservation had been attributed to the fact that , it was buried up to its lintels in sand, with homes built over the top, until it was excavated by Auguste Mariette in the 1860s. The sand protected the monument over the years, leaving it very well preserved today.It is a magnificent site, and the fact that the roof is still complete gives it a very different atmosphere than other temples. All to soon we were back on the boat and setting sail for Luxor. We had to pass through the lock at Edfu, we had been informed that this could be a long drawn out process and may take hours. It took all of 10 minutes and happened whilst we were having lunch so I did not get any photos.
After a relaxing afternoon on the Sun Deck, enjoying afternoon tea (we only just had lunch!) we approached and arrived in Luxor.
Needing to find a Bank, we strolled along the riverside passing the Mummification Museum. This sparked Sarah’s interest, so once we had topped up our funds we paid the 50 E£ each and went in.
The museum was small, and at first I think Sarah was a little disappointed in the seemingly limited displays. But, once you took your time and took a closer look at what was in the museum, a mummified human, baboon, crocodile, ibis etc and the implements and methods used to achieve the results, it was very interesting. If you have an hour to spare I think it is a worthwhile visit.
After yet another dinner, it was time to enjoy a Belly Dancing Show. Both the Belly Dancer and Whirling Dervish that provided the entertainment were fantastic and I was pleased the whole boat managed to stay up to watch them, the bar did not do a lot of business though, with both the large groups of Americans drinking only water! Maybe it was the thought of the 04.30 wake up call in the morning, as we sank more of those delicious
G &Ts we seemed to have forgotten about that?
Moira, great blog! My only question is with all those hours in the air, how do you find time to do all this fantastic sightseeing? Keep posting!
ReplyDeleteHaha....I work to travel! and think I am in the wrong job? Thank you. Moira
ReplyDeletePS...and I love afternoon tea, so will be reading your blog, thanks.
ReplyDelete