Transition from Lake Nasser to the Nile

This will be our last day on the Omar Khayam and Lake Nasser. Later today we will arrive in Aswan.  We will disembark from the Omar Khayam and move into a smaller ship, The Senator. Omar Khayam has been our introduction to cruise ships, and I must say we have enjoyed ourselves.  In addition to providing a comfortable journey it provided a means for us to see the remote Nubian portion of Egypt.After today we will travel the more populated areas north of Aswan Dam.  In other words, we move back to civilization more like we know it.

Before we get to Aswan, there is another temple for us to explore:  Kalabsha Temple.

This temple, like the ones we have already seen, has been moved to avoid being flooded when the Aswan Dam was built.  This is the youngest of the temples we have seen so far.  It was built by the Roman Emperor Octavius Augustus from 30 to 14 BC.

One of those two little boats is what we take to get back and forth from our ship to Kalabsha Temple.

This is one of the small temples off the the side of the main event.

Front door

I was surprised to see petroglyphs, not so different from the ones found in Oregon and Washington.

Kalabsha Temple is the last Nubian temple that we will see.  Our next stop is Aswan.  As you can see from the photo, Aswan Dam, which created Lake Nasser, is immense.

Aswan Dam

I still can't believe I'm in Egypt and here I am, overlooking Aswan Dam.

While the Omar Khayam was certainly luxurious by our standards, The Senator, which is much smaller had an elegance that we weren't prepared for.  Although unprepared we settled right in to life on a ship with only 16 cabins.  

Before checking in to our cabins, we all enjoyed a welcome drink in the lounge.

AFter the welcome drink, and lunch, we left The Senator and enjoyed a felucca ride on the Nile. This was a very relaxing introduction to the city of Aswan.

Here's our Nubian captain, steering the felucca, playing the drum and singing.

Our captain and his assistant.

This is the old Cataract Hotel.  Agatha Christie wrote some of Death on the Nile while staying here.  

Back on The Senator, after our felucca ride, we sat on the top deck and enjoyed the river and the sun.

Lots of felucca's drifted by as we enjoyed relaxing on the top deck.

The sunset, and the lights on the tombs across the river, give our view from The Senator a magical quality.  The structure on top is a tomb.

This has been another perfect day on the Nile.

Temple of Wadi es-Seboua

Since we had a free morning  on the Omar Khayam, I took advantage of being away from the real world and had a massage!!! I can't believe I did a cruise ship massage, but it was quite wonderful.  After the massage I spent a few hours on the deck watching the banks of the Nile float by.  I was thoroughly prepared for the afternoon sights.  Our first stop is Wadi es-Seboua - the Valley of the Lions! Wow!  This temple was built by the 18th dynasty Pharaoh Amenhotop III and restored by Ramesses II.

Temple of Wadi es-Seboua

One of many sphinx of Ramesses which originally lined the road approaching the temple.

This man at the entrance holds a large stick.  Periodically he strolls through the temple and rids it of any venemous or other snakes who have attempted to take up residence.

There are beautiful carvings inside Wadi es-Seboua, as well as places for snakes to hide.

Taylor and I chose to walk to the next temple, but another option was to ride on this pony cart.

Oh what a view!

There's our boat.  This may be one of the more remote spots we've ever been in.

After visiting Wadi es-Seboua, it was hard to imagine there would be much else of interest in the neighborhood, but I was wrong.  A smaller temple is short distance away.

A simpler temple than the first, but lovely inside.

I know this is Isis.  She has the sun resting between two horns and a cell phone resting on top.

These are only a few of the many columns in this little temple.

On our way back to get the small boat which will ferry us to the Omar Khayam we notice we are not the only tourists here.  Another ship has joined ours.

We weren't lucky enough to see a crocodile in the Nile, but this fellow greeted us on our return to the ship.

After dinner the crocodile was gone, and this baboon greeted us instead.

After a long day, we enjoyed a little Nubian music and dance.

And the Temples Keep Coming

We were up at the crack of dawn to say goodbye to Abu Simbel.

From this early morning view, you can see both Abu Simbel, and the smaller temple to the right, dedicated to his wife Nefertari.  It was cold this early in the morning.

We sailed all morning on the Omar Khayyam and after lunch we moored as best we could near shore.  We clambered ashore by way of a rickety gang plank and  began to explore more Egyptian temples.

Nubian fishing camp on the way to the temple.

Shopping!   And no one told me I shouldn't buy.

Typical Nubian architecture with domes, mud bricks and small windows.

Lake Nasser

A small tomb we encountered on the way to the Temple of Amada.

Temple of Amada. This is the oldest of the Lake Nasser temples, built in the 18th dynasty. The 18th dynasty is 1550-1292 BC.  Like other temples along Lake Nasser it has been moved to this new location.  It's original location is covered by water after the Aswan Dam was built.

The outside of the temple wasn't particularly stunning. The inside of this temple was breathtaking. Notice that the paint still exists in the temple.  Of course it would have been much brighter when originally built. I should be able to identify these gods and goddesses but I've got them all mixed up in my mind.

Stunned by the ancient beauty we  witnessed we headed back to the boat, for some relaxation and admiration of the scenery as we continued to head north. More temples are in our future.