Day 2 – El Kab, Vulture Rock and Edfu Temple
I woke up at 6:00 a.m. raring to go. This, if you know me, will seem quite odd as I am not a morning person (at all). I quickly threw on my sandals and sat out on our balcony to welcome the day as the sun rose over the Nile.
Of course it didn’t take long for me to start snapping pictures. There were countless subjects to entice the artist’s eye— fishermen in boats out for an early catch, birds soaring in the morning mists, donkeys and cattle roaming freely on small islets in the river, and men astride donkeys on the nearby banks going along with their workday. As we passed by the small islets small birds darted in and out of the rushes that lined the marshy shore. Although I took numerous pictures, I knew it was impossible to capture the stunning landscape spread out before me.
Rob and I headed down for breakfast and to meet our group. Our first destination for the day was the El-Kab monuments.
At El-Kab we first visited a couple of tombs. One of which even Bob had never been to, which had reliefs that were quite unique. They seemed to depict doorways that opened to reveal ushabtis.
After viewing the tombs we checked out a small temple that was built in the reign of Amenhotep III, Akhenaten’s father. I wonder how he would feel about being known for that. Anyhow, the temple was filled with beautiful depictions of Hathor, some still had remnants of the original bright blue pigment. The temple’s pillars were also adorned at their capitols with Hathor heads. It was all quite lovely.
The last stop at El-Kab was to check out the prehistoric carvings at Vulture Rock.
We all loaded up into the air-conditioned coach and headed to Edfu Temple. We arrived at dusk with a full moon that had already risen. It was as if we had the entire site to ourselves. It was truly amazing. As we explored the temple night fell and the entire complex became dramatically lit, with upturned flood lights. The hieroglyphs just jumped off the walls. What a stunning sight!
When we returned to the boat the call to prayer was reverberating through the city. The sound was hauntingly beautiful.
After dinner we all watched a screening of Bob’s latest National Geographic documentary about how the pyramids were built.
So exciting!
Day 1 – S.S. Karim
We arrived in Luxor after a horrible charter flight from London. The aircraft was plainly configured for sardines. It was a truly horrendous five hours. But we managed to survive.
After our arrival on the S.S. Karim we settled into our well appointed suite then headed down for dinner. We sat with Bob and Pat and had a lovely time. Afterward we all headed up to the outdoor main deck for a night cap. Our happy group of sixteen were the only occupants of the paddle boat.
Much larger boats cruised on past us, which was not surprising, as this trip was billed as the slowest way down the Nile. The original steam powered engine’s top speeds are a relative snail’s pace compared to the large blocky cruise ships that are common up and down the Nile.
As we sat outside with our new found companions we watched Egypt slowly pass us by. In the deep dusk of early evening the black silhouettes of the palm trees along the riverbank made me think of German paper cut art I had seen in the past.
To close this first day out, before heading to bed, Rob and I enjoyed a glass of wine on our private balcony at the aft of the paddleboat, taking it all in.
