Nile cruise, Egypt.
The Nile cruise wasn’t part of our plan, but we kept hearing how remarkable it is to make connections between the artifacts you see in the museums with where they were found (along the Nile). With our own tour guide, 3 nights on a 50-room, all-inclusive cruise ship and 11 stops, the cruise made our Egypt trip a 10 out of 10 experience.
From Cairo we flew to Aswan and booked a hotel (unbeknownst to us) in a Nubian village, an ethnic group dating back to 2300 BC from the southern Egypt/northern Sudan region which admittedly, I’d never heard of. Our stay was delightful!
A full day trip to Abu Simbel (two temples built into the broad side of mountain of rock) kicked off the tour of Egyptian marvels. Philae temple, the Aswan high dam, Kom Ombu temple and the crocodile museum, and the Temple of Horus in Edfu.
The history is so BIG. Literally - massive columns and enormous limestone statutes, and figuratively - the likenesses of actual humans and touching what they touched four THOUSAND years ago enlarges your sense of being. Lulled along by legendary north-flowing Nile River, it was a portal to the past.
Nubian dinner
Nubian guest house
The Nile!
Loooong drive to Abu Simbel
Tried to catch the shimmering desert mirage on the hot, clear day
Ramses II ode to himself and to show those from the south who's boss up here
For 20 minutes twice a year on the winter and summer solstice, the sun lights the faces of Ramses II and two of the gods sitting here. The god of darkness (far left) remains in the shadows.
To avoid disappearing into the Nile, Abu Simbel was actually moved 200m over and 65m up! The faces were cut vertically to spare any damage of the facial features.
Temple for Queen Nefertari, Ramses II favorite wife
Cow goddess, Hathor
Aswan High Dam, creating Lake Nasser which provides water to every person in Egypt
Philae Temple
Using pamphlet to identify Egyptian gods on temple walls
Essences and oils
Queen of Hansa, cruise ship lobby
Cruise ship pool
Excellent cruise ship meals
Evening on the Nile
Not our ship, but one just like it
Kom Ombo Temple
Some of the paint can still be seen under the curvature, protected from the elements
Our tour guide and Egyptologist, Waheed
The well to check Nile water level
Egyptian calendar
Sobek, the crocodile god
Mummified crocodiles
Watching the Timberwolves on the Nile
Banks of the Nile
Hallway of our 65-room cruise ship
Ancient ruins everywhere
Exercise room on the Queen of Hansa
Most delicious accompaniment
"Not necessarily angry, but certainly serious" bird, according to Waheed
The eye of Horus
Kids and horses in the Nile
On the Nile, under the bridge
Walking through Edfu Temple
Football talk at Abu Simbel
Video clip of how Abu Simbel was relocated
Waheed explaining to us the wall of recipes in the pharmacy room at Edfu Temple
Edfu Temple pharmacy