Felucca Nights

You can reach a level of “temple fatigue” on a trip like this, but at the same time every visit brings the history to life that much more.  Standing in these temples on the same stones as the builders, artists, architects, priests, pharaohs, and everyday citizens is an awe-inspiring experience.  We’re on a bus ride to Luxor from the second of two temples that we saw today: Kom Ombo and Edfu, one of the best-preserved temples in all of Egypt.  Both were actually built by the Greeks to appease the people and, more importantly, the priests, during Greece’s rein over Egypt.

The temples all share a similar design: an elaborate entrance into a common plaza area where the commoners would bring their offerings to the gods of the temple, and a sanctuary where the priests would make the actual offering to the god.  The offerings were laid at the feet of a statue representing the god.  Of course, the statue couldn’t actually do anything with the gifts, so many of the priests became very wealthy and some were even anointed pharaohs.

The temples are huge and intricately decorated with thousands of carvings in the pillars, walls, and ceilings.  The carvings tell stories or depict offerings to the gods.

In some cases, the original colours are still visible.

We spent yesterday sailing down the Nile on a felucca.  It was a nice, relaxing respite from the constant motion of the last week.  We were sailing into a headwind, so we didn’t travel too far and had to keep tacking back and forth across the river, trying to avoid a seemingly endless flotilla of river cruise ships on each crossing.

Sailing isn’t allowed in the dark, so we docked when night fell and had dinner aboard our motorized support boat.  With nothing to do and nowhere to go after dinner, we had good conversation and  lot of laughs with the rest of the tour group (6 Canadians, 4 Australians, 3 Americans, and one Russian (although he’s a Canadian citizen), and our Egyptian tour guide, Michael).

When it came time for bed, we retired to our feluccas and unrolled our sleeping bags for a night on the Nile.

For the rest of today and tomorrow we’re in Luxor, with a donkey ride and a visit to the Valley of the Kings tomorrow morning.  We’ve been warned that the sellers at the bazaar in Luxor are the most aggressive yet, which is hard to even fathom given the completely unabashed For-You-Special-Price! You-Can-Just-Look! Is-A-Gift-You-Can-Do-Money?? we’ve been subjected to so far.  Thankfully Michelle has mastered enough Arabic to get us out of most jams: “La shukran! Mafiche faloos!”  (No thank you!  I have no money!)