The third day in Egypt, we were allowed a much leisurely breakfast, as we have to proceed to airport by 11 , to fly to Aswan for our next stage of River Cruise on Nile.
We reached Aswan on time and proceeded directly to our boat, Opera berthed on the river Nile.We occupied our allotted cabins and that evening we were taken to one of the famous Perfumery ,Aswan is famous for perfumeries we were told. It is a household industry here from ages.Here we saw a demonstration of glass blowing, how scented oils are used to make perfumes, which long last, as no alcohol is added and they are pure oils.Here we were shown how medicinal oils help in relieving body pains, and a wide variety of perfumes with exotic names as Cleopatra, Ramses.. etc.We bought a few perfumes here.
On the way to our boat, we were left at the railway station junction, to have a glimpse of local flavour of the bazaar. The city is neat and various transports like tongas driven by horses and taxis and public buses too are plying on roads.On the river front, there are numerous parks with greenery, filled with gaiety and colour. We walked through the colourful bazaar, which is selling spices, artefacts, local goods, all in open displays and the shopkeepers inviting us with namasthe and shouts of our Bollywood actors, to attract our attention.
We enjoyed our walk back to the jetty where our boat is berthed , as the weather is so pleasant and breezy winds seem to be telling stories of ancient kings and queens in our ears.
We had an early dinner as we have to get up early in the morning or rather at the middle of the night, to proceed to Abu Simbel Temple on the next day.We woke up at 2.30 in the night and were on deck by 3am, we collected our breakfast boxes and boarded our bus. Some 20 or odd buses collected , at a place and we proceeded in a convoy, with security as this place is in the middle of a desert, close to Sudan, southern most tip of Egypt.
Abu Simbel has two magnificent Temples, the Temple of Ramses II and the Temple of Nefertati. Not only are the two temples at Abu Simbel among the most agnificient monuments in the world but their removal and reconstruction was an historic event itself. The temples were threatened by submersion in Lake Nasser, due to the construction of the High Dam.
During the salvage operation which continued until 1968, the two temples were dismantled and raised over 60 metres up the sandstone cliff, where they had been built more than 3,000 years before.The facade of the main temple is 108 feet high and 125 feet wide with four colossal seated statues about 65 feet high wearing the double crown and having the cartouches of Ramses II. The entrance leads into a Grand Hall which is 57 feet high and 52 feet wide and was cut from the rock. It is supported with 8 pillars of Ramses II.
The walls inside the temple are painted or carved with figures depicting the times of Ramses II, we saw Ramses on a chariot with spiked wheels, waging a battle with enemies, beheading his enemies heads, depicting how great a warrior he is, various inscriptions in hieroglyphics , all showing how advanced the ancient Egyptians were in the art of warfare and medicine and other daily activities.
The other temple is dedicated to his beautiful wife Nefertari and the insides of the temple here too are painted showing the queen in beautiful poses.
The lake or body of water collected here is so huge like an ocean, (5000sq. km. in area),and is named after their beloved President, Naser.
This lake is formed due to the construction of a High Dam on river Nile, we stop at the dam, to have a panoramic view of the river, dam and the canals flowing from the dam.
Our next stop is at the granite quarry where lies an unfinished obelisk , which was never detached from the rock as it developed cracks in several places. The obelisks are huge, one stone rocks cut into pillars to be erected at temples as salutations to the royals.
We returned back to our boat and our cruise on river Nile has started by 5.30 in the evening .We enjoyed the scenic beauty of river Nile and the greenery along the coast, mainly date palms, we saw aplenty, along with banana plantations, from the open deck at the top of the sailing boat, with flying birds giving us company on that memorable voyage.
On the same day, our boat docked at a place, where Temple Kom Ombo is situated.Overlooking the Nile,this unique temple is infact the fusion of two temples, set side by side, with each side having it's own gateways and chapels.The left side of the temple is dedicated to Harooeris, the falcon headed God. The right part of the temple is dedicated to Sobek, the crocodile headed God and God of fertility.
Later, at night we start our sailing again, to reach Edfu Temple on the next day.Early in the morning, we start our shore excursion to visit the temple of Edfu. Of all the temples of ancient Egypt, the one at Edfu is not only the best preserved , but the second largest after Karnak.
This temple is dedicated to Horus and was built in the Ptolemic period.We found hieroglyphic alphabets on the walls of the temple, a calender was also drawn on the walls dividing a year into three seasons, the flooding of river Nile, the after flood, agricultural season, and the harvesting season. They worshipped sun as God and calculated a year into 365 days, approximately, following the earth's path around the sun. Hieroglyphics are pictorial alphabets, drawn from nature around them, birds, animals,and other things used by them.
The daily agricultural activities, their tools, the medical tools, flowers, birds, animals, these are some of the pictures on the walls of the temple, giving us an idea of the lives and occupations of people at those times.
We return to our cruise and enjoy a delicious lunch and be prepared to watch our boat crossing the Esna locks on the river Nile, from the open deck on top.
After crossing the locks, we have a smooth sail and arrive at the ancient city Luxor, which was the capital of Egypt for some time.We arrive in time to be present at the world famous sound and light show at Karnak temple. The huge pillars mounted to hold a huge chamber
Karnak temple is the largest temple in Egypt with huge pillars mounted to hold a huge chamber and it is on the east coast of river Nile.We are invited into the temple by the majestic avenue of Ram-headed sphinxes leading into the precinct of God Amun Re. Huge pillars,134 in number, arranged in 16 rows, supported the famous Hypostyle hall in the precinct of Amun-Re.The architraves on the top of these columns were 70 tons in weight and we were left wondering how they managed to lift them atop these huge heights.
Overlooking the sacred lake, we sat in a gallery to hear about the stories of these kings and their religious practices with appropriate lighting on the walls, and were transported into ancient times, at one go.
We returned back to cruise boat to have the last supper, as we will be leaving the boat on the next day.The dinner was followed by a gala dancing and song event.
The next day was the last day of our tour, our luggage was boarded on the bus and after having our breakfast, we started our tour in the city of Luxor.
Our first stop is at the karnak temple, now in day light, and we took a good number of pictures in front of those huge statues and pillars. From there, we travelled to the west bank of Nile, to discover the valley of Kings. This is the place, where, generations of pharaohs and nobles were buried in great splendour, housed in crips cut into the cliffs. The treasures of the burial chambers of great kings and queens have long been looted by ancient Egyptians and visitors over the centuries.
The paintings on the walls leading into the tombs are intact even now after more than 5,000 years and they tell the story of ancient civilization of Egypt.
This is the place where the Boy King Tutankhamum's mummy was found intact, along with immense treasures, by a relentless discoverer, who searched on these grounds for 20 long years , to find this tomb.The mummy and treasure are preserved at the museum of Cairo, where we have been previously, we remembered.
On the way to the gigantic temple of Queen Hatshepsut, we passed the valley of queens ,where queens were buried, and their tombs were found in the caves on the hills.
Queen Hashepshut is the only woman phaaoh to have ruled Egypt, and she built a huge temple in three tiers.On our return we take a photo stop at the Colossi of Memmon. These two giant statues are all that remain of the mortuary temple of Amenophis III.
By evening we check into a hotel, in Luxor, and with this our tour is complete, but we are left for ourselves to wander on the streets of Luxor or visit one more temple temple of Luxor. Enough of temples is the general cry of the members, so many hired a tonga to have a last shopping time on the streets of Luxor, where as, we proceeded to have another glimpse in to ancient Egypt, by visiting the famous Luxor museum.
Our visit was worth the time, as we saw in close quarters, the wheels, their transport- chariots, the mummification beds, agricultural implements, coins, building tools like a plumb line, a perpendicular angle, in wood, their jewellery, dresses in fine linen, the beautiful face of queen Nephertatis, the scribe in a sitting posture and many more, to our heart's full.
The tour to Egypt is coming to an end, we had a sumptuous dinner, good sleep and woke up early morning to take our flight back to Aswan. From Aswan, we took our last flight to Kuwait and reached home on 30th March, noon, safely and exhausted but satisfied that we had an excellent holiday.
We have fallen in love with the ancient civilization, the monuments, the temples and above all the river Nile and the tasty Mediterranean food, and Egypt beckons its visitors for another tour, another time, till then...
We reached Aswan on time and proceeded directly to our boat, Opera berthed on the river Nile.We occupied our allotted cabins and that evening we were taken to one of the famous Perfumery ,Aswan is famous for perfumeries we were told. It is a household industry here from ages.Here we saw a demonstration of glass blowing, how scented oils are used to make perfumes, which long last, as no alcohol is added and they are pure oils.Here we were shown how medicinal oils help in relieving body pains, and a wide variety of perfumes with exotic names as Cleopatra, Ramses.. etc.We bought a few perfumes here.
On the way to our boat, we were left at the railway station junction, to have a glimpse of local flavour of the bazaar. The city is neat and various transports like tongas driven by horses and taxis and public buses too are plying on roads.On the river front, there are numerous parks with greenery, filled with gaiety and colour. We walked through the colourful bazaar, which is selling spices, artefacts, local goods, all in open displays and the shopkeepers inviting us with namasthe and shouts of our Bollywood actors, to attract our attention.
We enjoyed our walk back to the jetty where our boat is berthed , as the weather is so pleasant and breezy winds seem to be telling stories of ancient kings and queens in our ears.
We had an early dinner as we have to get up early in the morning or rather at the middle of the night, to proceed to Abu Simbel Temple on the next day.We woke up at 2.30 in the night and were on deck by 3am, we collected our breakfast boxes and boarded our bus. Some 20 or odd buses collected , at a place and we proceeded in a convoy, with security as this place is in the middle of a desert, close to Sudan, southern most tip of Egypt.
Abu Simbel has two magnificent Temples, the Temple of Ramses II and the Temple of Nefertati. Not only are the two temples at Abu Simbel among the most agnificient monuments in the world but their removal and reconstruction was an historic event itself. The temples were threatened by submersion in Lake Nasser, due to the construction of the High Dam.
During the salvage operation which continued until 1968, the two temples were dismantled and raised over 60 metres up the sandstone cliff, where they had been built more than 3,000 years before.The facade of the main temple is 108 feet high and 125 feet wide with four colossal seated statues about 65 feet high wearing the double crown and having the cartouches of Ramses II. The entrance leads into a Grand Hall which is 57 feet high and 52 feet wide and was cut from the rock. It is supported with 8 pillars of Ramses II.
The walls inside the temple are painted or carved with figures depicting the times of Ramses II, we saw Ramses on a chariot with spiked wheels, waging a battle with enemies, beheading his enemies heads, depicting how great a warrior he is, various inscriptions in hieroglyphics , all showing how advanced the ancient Egyptians were in the art of warfare and medicine and other daily activities.
The other temple is dedicated to his beautiful wife Nefertari and the insides of the temple here too are painted showing the queen in beautiful poses.
The lake or body of water collected here is so huge like an ocean, (5000sq. km. in area),and is named after their beloved President, Naser.
This lake is formed due to the construction of a High Dam on river Nile, we stop at the dam, to have a panoramic view of the river, dam and the canals flowing from the dam.
Our next stop is at the granite quarry where lies an unfinished obelisk , which was never detached from the rock as it developed cracks in several places. The obelisks are huge, one stone rocks cut into pillars to be erected at temples as salutations to the royals.
We returned back to our boat and our cruise on river Nile has started by 5.30 in the evening .We enjoyed the scenic beauty of river Nile and the greenery along the coast, mainly date palms, we saw aplenty, along with banana plantations, from the open deck at the top of the sailing boat, with flying birds giving us company on that memorable voyage.
On the same day, our boat docked at a place, where Temple Kom Ombo is situated.Overlooking the Nile,this unique temple is infact the fusion of two temples, set side by side, with each side having it's own gateways and chapels.The left side of the temple is dedicated to Harooeris, the falcon headed God. The right part of the temple is dedicated to Sobek, the crocodile headed God and God of fertility.
Later, at night we start our sailing again, to reach Edfu Temple on the next day.Early in the morning, we start our shore excursion to visit the temple of Edfu. Of all the temples of ancient Egypt, the one at Edfu is not only the best preserved , but the second largest after Karnak.
This temple is dedicated to Horus and was built in the Ptolemic period.We found hieroglyphic alphabets on the walls of the temple, a calender was also drawn on the walls dividing a year into three seasons, the flooding of river Nile, the after flood, agricultural season, and the harvesting season. They worshipped sun as God and calculated a year into 365 days, approximately, following the earth's path around the sun. Hieroglyphics are pictorial alphabets, drawn from nature around them, birds, animals,and other things used by them.
The daily agricultural activities, their tools, the medical tools, flowers, birds, animals, these are some of the pictures on the walls of the temple, giving us an idea of the lives and occupations of people at those times.
We return to our cruise and enjoy a delicious lunch and be prepared to watch our boat crossing the Esna locks on the river Nile, from the open deck on top.
After crossing the locks, we have a smooth sail and arrive at the ancient city Luxor, which was the capital of Egypt for some time.We arrive in time to be present at the world famous sound and light show at Karnak temple. The huge pillars mounted to hold a huge chamber
Karnak temple is the largest temple in Egypt with huge pillars mounted to hold a huge chamber and it is on the east coast of river Nile.We are invited into the temple by the majestic avenue of Ram-headed sphinxes leading into the precinct of God Amun Re. Huge pillars,134 in number, arranged in 16 rows, supported the famous Hypostyle hall in the precinct of Amun-Re.The architraves on the top of these columns were 70 tons in weight and we were left wondering how they managed to lift them atop these huge heights.
Overlooking the sacred lake, we sat in a gallery to hear about the stories of these kings and their religious practices with appropriate lighting on the walls, and were transported into ancient times, at one go.
We returned back to cruise boat to have the last supper, as we will be leaving the boat on the next day.The dinner was followed by a gala dancing and song event.
The next day was the last day of our tour, our luggage was boarded on the bus and after having our breakfast, we started our tour in the city of Luxor.
Our first stop is at the karnak temple, now in day light, and we took a good number of pictures in front of those huge statues and pillars. From there, we travelled to the west bank of Nile, to discover the valley of Kings. This is the place, where, generations of pharaohs and nobles were buried in great splendour, housed in crips cut into the cliffs. The treasures of the burial chambers of great kings and queens have long been looted by ancient Egyptians and visitors over the centuries.
The paintings on the walls leading into the tombs are intact even now after more than 5,000 years and they tell the story of ancient civilization of Egypt.
This is the place where the Boy King Tutankhamum's mummy was found intact, along with immense treasures, by a relentless discoverer, who searched on these grounds for 20 long years , to find this tomb.The mummy and treasure are preserved at the museum of Cairo, where we have been previously, we remembered.
On the way to the gigantic temple of Queen Hatshepsut, we passed the valley of queens ,where queens were buried, and their tombs were found in the caves on the hills.
Queen Hashepshut is the only woman phaaoh to have ruled Egypt, and she built a huge temple in three tiers.On our return we take a photo stop at the Colossi of Memmon. These two giant statues are all that remain of the mortuary temple of Amenophis III.
By evening we check into a hotel, in Luxor, and with this our tour is complete, but we are left for ourselves to wander on the streets of Luxor or visit one more temple temple of Luxor. Enough of temples is the general cry of the members, so many hired a tonga to have a last shopping time on the streets of Luxor, where as, we proceeded to have another glimpse in to ancient Egypt, by visiting the famous Luxor museum.
Our visit was worth the time, as we saw in close quarters, the wheels, their transport- chariots, the mummification beds, agricultural implements, coins, building tools like a plumb line, a perpendicular angle, in wood, their jewellery, dresses in fine linen, the beautiful face of queen Nephertatis, the scribe in a sitting posture and many more, to our heart's full.
The tour to Egypt is coming to an end, we had a sumptuous dinner, good sleep and woke up early morning to take our flight back to Aswan. From Aswan, we took our last flight to Kuwait and reached home on 30th March, noon, safely and exhausted but satisfied that we had an excellent holiday.
We have fallen in love with the ancient civilization, the monuments, the temples and above all the river Nile and the tasty Mediterranean food, and Egypt beckons its visitors for another tour, another time, till then...
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