and viewed the temple from the air.
When the building of the dam threatened to submerge
the monuments, work began in the 1960s to cut the temples
from the mountainside and move to higher ground. Tens of
thousands of blocks of rose granite were moved and precisely
rebuilt. Guarding the entrance are four colossal statues of
Ramses II clearly conveying “Beware, entering the land of
the mighty king Ramses!” I don’t know what was more
astonishing, the magnificence of the Temple or the fact that
it was moved!
From there, we sailed north, which is downriver, to Kom
Ombo temple, noted for its hieroglyphics depicting use of
medical instruments, and for the remains of beautiful color in
the temples. In Edfu, we ventured to the Temple of Horus, via
horse and buggy, led by our feisty horse Camilla.
Along the Nile, agriculture still plays a key role in the
Egyptian economy, with sugar cane being a key crop as well as
bananas, dates, mango, and guava. The trip along the river was
beautiful, but unfortunately, much of Egypt’s fertile land along
the Nile is being consumed by concrete buildings to house the
growing population.
Soon we were at the Esna Locks. What a treat for the
shoppers among us! The “Nile Vendors” followed the cruise
ship in their small boats, and hurled merchandise such as
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GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
towels and tablecloths, up to the upper deck. From there
you negotiated a price, and if you wanted to buy it, you
wrapped the money into the item, threw it down, and
they threw the item back up
Later that night we all dressed and “attempted” to
dance like Egyptians and were treated to Twirling Dervish
and Belly Dancing.
We finished our cruise on the East bank of the Nile,
at Luxor, Hamdy’s home town, and checked into the
beautiful Sonesta St. George Hotel. Nothing prepared us
for the astonishment of Luxor! The city houses nearly a
third of the antiquities known to man, primarily in the
Luxor and Karnak temples. Karnak is the largest ancient
religious site in the world. Its construction was started
around 2000 BC, and pharaohs added temples, columns
and other architectural wonders over the next 2000 years
when Luxor was the center of culture. Wandering through
these temples was a highlight of the trip and even more
mesmerizing during the evening’s Light and Sound Show.
The next day we crossed the river to the West Bank
of the Nile which includes the Valley of the Kings, the
Valley of the Queens, the Valley of the Nobles, and
other fascinating temples, including the temple to the
great female pharaoh, Hatshepsut. In the sand dunes of
APRIL/MAY 2018
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