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.

Transitions: Egypt to Israel

Last night we said good bye to our Road Scholar family, and we are now officially on our own.  Transitions are always a little challenging for me, but I am well rested, over the jet lag and ready to change countries.

We fly from Cairo to Amman Jordan at 4 p.m.  We get to lounge around the airport for about 4 hours and then we board the plane for Tel Aviv.  In Tel Aviv we hope to get the Abraham Hostel shuttle bus for Jerusalem.  However, if we can't connect with that, we plan to take a taxi.  This is the first part of the trip that isn't orchestrated by a third party.  If all goes well we should arrive at the Abraham Hostel in Jerusalem around 11 p.m.  I understand the bar tender at the hostel will immediately pour us a beer.

As I write, Taylor is reading the guide book for Israel, studying what we need to know. In addition to information about how to catch a taxi, and how to tip the guide book has an entire section dedicated to what to do if you find yourself in the middle of a mine field.  Whose idea was this trip?

Philae Temple and the Temple of Abu Simbel

Good grief!  This trip has started with a bang.  Yesterday's tour of the pyramids near Cairo was a walk in the park compared to today's itinerary.

2:30 a.m coffee, tea and boxed breakfast available in the lobby
3:00 a.m. bags outside our doors
3:30 a.m. depart hotel
4:15 a.m. arrive at airport
5:45 a.m. flight to Aswan

In Aswan we took a small boat to see Philae Temple.  This is one of the many temples that would have been flooded when the High Dam at Aswan was built in the 1960s.  This is one of about 10 temples that was moved to higher ground for preservation.

Philae Temple - our introduction to Egyptian temples.

This is a little side temple, and it's so pretty in the morning light.

 At this temple we were  impressed to learn that it had been moved stone by stone to its current location.  The thought of such a project is mind boggling, but then again, building it in the first place with primitive tools is also beyond belief.

Our lovely guide Tarek started introducing us to the gods, and goddesses here.  This temple was the center of the cult of the goddess Isis. Tarek also introduced us to Osiris and Horus.  Learning the gods, goddesses and pharaohs didn't get easier as we traveled along.

We spent an hour or so contemplating this amazing sight, and then jumped on the boat, returned to the airport and flew to Abu Simbel.

Abu Simbel is about 40 miles north of Sudan, on the banks of Lake Nasser -  the lake formed when the Aswan dam was built. This temple was also moved from it's original sight to it's present location.

The Temple Abu Simbel. Next door is a smaller temple dedicated to Ramesses' wife Nefertari.

Abu Simbel was built by the pharaoh Ramesses II and is dedicated to the god Re-Harakhte. He built a temple next door for his wife Nefertari and dedicated it to the goddess Hathor.

After exploring the temple complex we headed to our home away from home, the ship Omar El Khayam.  I understand it is a small ship as far as ships go, with 60 cabins.

This is the first cruise for Taylor and me.  We checked into our cabin, rested for about 5 minutes, ate dinner and went back to Abu Simbel.  No matter that we were up and functioning at 2 in the morning, if we came this far we should see it at sunset, and also see the sound and light show.

The little black rectangle between the feet of Ramesses II and Ramesses II is the door to the temple. The lights are on and we are waiting for sunset to enjoy the show.

 Finally, with the show over and visions of gods, goddesses and pharaohs dancing in our heads we headed back to the Omar Khayam for bed.  We survived a very long day, but wait, there's more to look forward to.  Tomorrow morning at sunrise our ship will sail and we must be up on deck to see Abu Simbel for the last time.

Visiting the Pyramids of Egypt

We started the first day of our Road Scholar tour with a trip to the areas of Dashur, and Giza.  I think most people associate pyramids with Egypt.  However, I had no idea there were so many of them. There are more than 100 pyramids in Egypt.  Most likely there are even more pyramids buried in the sand.

The first pyramid of the day is also the oldest in the area, the Bent Pyramid.  The angles of the pyramid aren't quite right, so it wasn't a success.  As you can see, it's crumbling.

The architect of the Red Pyramid, also in Dashur, got the angles correct. This is the first true pyramid.  We climbed to the entrance, but did not go in.

From the entrance of the Red Pyramid I was able to look into the distance and see even more pyramids.

Near the Great Pyramid, smaller pyramids for wives and sons.

The Great Pyramid of Giza is in the distance.  Taylor and I climbed to the top, through a long narrow corridor, at times bent nearly double.  It was a challenge, and we did it!

Getting to the top, I worked up a sweat.  The reward was a small dark room, with an empty coffin.  It was well worth the effort.

Steamy conditions in the pyramid. Taylor forgot to bring a sweat head band on the trip!

Climbing down from the top of the Great Pyramid of Khufu I met  this Syrian woman.  She was unhappy with her husband for making her climb to the top, only to find nothing.  I think the claustrophobic tunnel wasn't her idea of a good time. 

Now that we visited so many pyramids, it's hard to keep them all straight.  While the pyramids are fascinating, I also found that the scenes around me were also intriguing.  Here are some images that will stick in my memory of my introduction to Egypt.

This is my idea of classic Egypt- camels and pyramids.

Crossing the irrigation canal.

Morning in the coffee shop.

Happy to be in Egypt, and learning that the sun is bright - sun hats and sun glasses mandatory.

No Time to Write a Proper Blog Post

We've been busy sailing on a felucca on the Nile in Aswan, Egypt.

Time flies as we clap along with our Nubian captain's tunes.

So sorry to hear that folks in Portland, and other parts of the U.S. are experiencing snow and ice.