Cruising the Nile
Aswan, Nile River Valley, Egypt
June 12, 2013
We had a 6:00 wake up call (we always try to get going early to avoid the mid-day heat) and went down for a breakfast buffet. I was happy to see a jar of peanut butter!
We departed for the temple in a horse and carriage with Barbara and Brian. On the way there our poor horse, Monica, slipped on the pavement and skinned her knee. Thankfully she was fine.
Edfu was one state of Egypt; each state has their own manifestation of a god or goddess. Here it was Horace, the falcon, son of Isis. After Isis found her husband with the exception of his penis, they had a child toghter, Horace, so it was deemed a virgin birth Temple @ Edfu. Horace fought to avenge his father against the wicked Seth and eventually defeated and killed him.
According to Hassan, Ediebo Ediebo used to be the name of this town meaning, Fighting Wicked. This site of this temple used to be below the town and houses. It was excavated in 1860 by the French, and 559 houses were destroyed to reveal the temple.
At Edfu we saw the underground water and salt seeping up into the temples. This was due to the damns on the Nile which will eventually cause a lot of damage to the temples and tombs.
These towers at this temple were 39 meters high. Four white flags would have hung here meaning god, submission and mercy. Horace was depicted with an angry face because he had to fight for 180 years against Seth.
We saw many great scenes at the temple, although most of the paint has vanished:
The carving of Isis nursing Horace which was repeated in paintings of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus Outside the Temple Walls.
Carvings that illustrsted the anciet dance moves of the Egyptians like highland dancing.
Priests carrying the sacred boat of the arc. Priest and priestesses wore sandals, had shaved heads and wore long gowns. The high priests and priestesses wore the same clothing plus the skin of the leopard.
The room of the sacred union - marriage. We saw a carving of a couple hugging which meant love and salvation.
The two women represent Upper and Lower Egypt and surrounded the pharaoh signifying the united nation.
Ptolemy V was depicted as hunting the crocodile. He was one of the ancestors of Cleopatra.
Smoke and soot were still here from when people lived here. This destroyed the ceiling carvings and paintings.
The sanctuary here housed the seat of the king that was found outside the temple and a replica of the sacred boat. Beside the sanctuary there were side rooms representing the villages of Egypt Our Ride. These rooms housed the equipment they needed.
Many scenes at Edfu were defaced by the Romans. We were able to find some undisturbed carvings along a couple of walls outside the temple. While there we ran into two young teenaged boys that walked with us and chatted for a while before they tried to sell us some scarab bracelets. They told us that school did not start until 10:00 today. I tried to sell them my photo or autograph but they did not go for it!
We saw the steps to the well that was used to measure the height of the water table and the Nile. The height of the water determined the taxes that would be remanded from the people.
We retuned to the ship at 9:00 and set sail at 9:30 for Kom Ombo.
Yesterday we sailed by the boys who threw rocks at our boat (one of the Indian ladies commented that they deserved a proper thrashing and I could not have agreed more), today it was some boys who were swimming and yelling "eff you!" Kom Ombo Temple. Very charming young men! LOL! I should also mention that we have sailed by many pleasant and friendly people and children who were waving and calling "hello" too.
Along the way I was able to sunbathe and Bill relaxed enjoying the Nile from the shade.
For our next stop we went to Kom Ombo Temple and museum. We were able to walk to the temple from the boat. We were one of two ships at the dock for 30 minutes, so we had a nice, long, quiet visit at the temple with Assan minus our four Indian friends.
The manifestation of the god at this temple was Sobek, the crocodile. Crocodiles were revered and feared here as the could be very dangerous and very docile. The people prayed to this god for several reasons: fertility, virility, healing of wounds and eye health. Sobek was the son of Isis and is also manifested as Horace the falcon (eye health) Incredible Carvings. So, in this temple two aspects were worshipped, the water (crocodile or body) and the air (Horace or breath). Assan reminded us that air and water can reside in our bodies and that we must nurture both parts, body and soul, to prevent dis-ease or to remain healthy and balanced.
We saw many incredible scenes on the walls of the temple:
A young Sobek with a rattle (with the cow face of Isis)
The lioness-headed manifestation of Isis
The king making an offering of a clock to Isis (small baboon)
Medical tools of ancient times
Birth and nursing
A honey bee that represents Lower Egypt Horace
Isis (really unique with upside down horns and a seven petal flower)
Horace and Toth (ibis headed) pouring water (ankh symbol) over the king, reigning praise; this has been a symoblic act in many modern religions
A well fed and relaxed crocodile on a table, listening and ready to "give advice "
In the museum we saw more than a dozen crocodile mummies, a statue of Sobek with a crown of horns and a disc, stelaes (decorated stone slabs) that were given as offerings where the sacred crocodile mummies were buried, crocodile eggs and crocodile fetus.
On the way back to the boat Bill purchased six bracelets with scarabs (he tried to pay more but ended up confusing the boy) and I purchased a necklace at 86% off the suggested retail price.
We were the last ones on the boat and we set sail for Aswan immediately. We had tea with our Indian friends Crisian, Tanica, Anita and Rajesh. Bill played Rummy with them while I worked on the blog while the sun was staring to set.
We had an Egyptian dinner and it was all really delicious. We definitely enjoyed this more than the international menu and I could have had this meal every night! The desserts were very sweet and I really enjoyed them too. I think I have packed the pounds back on since my earlier tummy troubles!
