Luxurious sailing along the Nile from Luxor to Aswan and back

The sun streamed through the windows and we looked out the cabin windows of the SS Misor to see the docks at Esna and to glimpse the small Temple Khnum, built during the 2nd century BC and noted for the brilliant colours of the wall paintings. Two of our travelling companions on the SS Misor were following an alternative itinerary that included a visit  to this temple; the boat docked for an hour to allow them a short tour before it was navigated through the locks at Esna.

We had arrived on board the small, luxury SS Misor at 2:00 am the previous night and set off to explore the vessel, locating the sun decks, pool, lounge areas, and restaurant. The ship, a steamer built for King Farouk in 1919, was purchased by Traveline, the tour operator, for a special cruising experience. Our experience certainly was special: the ship is small with only 24 cabins to accommodate only 47 passengers. During the week of our cruise, there were only 26 passengers aboard. the 60 crew members provided excellent and personal service.

Our first temple visit was to the temple of Edfu, to  the Temple of Horus the protector. The temple was built on the site of an existing temple to Horus. The remains of the outer wall demonstrate the power of the king, whose arm is raised, ready to smite the vanquished.

Pylon outside temple

upraised arm of king, holding flail to smite his victims

We learned that there are four basic elements to Egyptian temples: the facade with pylons, an open court, a hall of columns (Hypostyle Hall), and the sanctuary that could only be entered by the high priest and the king. Mohamed, our guide for the week, helped us interpret the paintings and to read the signs used to depict numbers. To decipher the hieroglyphs, one begins at the top, looks to  see the  direction the animals are facing, and then reads in that direction.

The famous mural in the Temple of Edfu is the Festival of Celebration that depicts one of the legends of Horus and Hathor. It shows the king, dressed in the skin of a panther, and his queen, placed in a ceremonial boat carried by 30 priests ( one priest was drawn, then 4 lines around his body represented 5 priests).

Entrance showing two doors, one to Sobek, the other to Horus

Before sailing the next morning, we visited Kom Ombu, the Temple of Sobek, the crocodile god. Since the crocodile was associated with evil, the temple has two accesses to provide a temple for the worship of Horus.

details of a wall carving

Our guide explained the process of carving, plastering and painting within the walls of this temple. All the carvings in this temple are examples of bas-relief and each wall is built out of a huge block of stone. A grid of papyrus was glued to the wall; string dipped in red ochre was used to mark the horizontal and vertical lines of the grid. Figures were then drawn on the stone, using the grid to ensure uniformity and precise symmetry. Then the walls around the figures were smoothed. Final details, such as facial features, the head dress, crowns, sceptres were added. After the carving was completed, plaster was smoothed over the stone and painted.

This temple helped us understand the narrowing from the entrance pylons to the inner sanctuary--as one proceeds deeper into the temple, the floors are built up, the ceilings become lower, the walls converge. These techniques were used to focus on the narrow, dark sanctuary that could only be entered by the high priest and king.

Colours have survived 4000 years 

We saw the vivid colours of the carvings.

We returned to the ship to relax and to avoid the heat of the day. A short Felucca ride took us to Kitchener's Island, named after a British governor who established a botanical garden on the site.. We also sailed around the Elephantine, a small island in the Nile close to Aswan, home to 4,000 Nubians who were displaced when the Great Dam was built in the 1970's. we also saw the Mausoleum of Aga Khan,  and the Old Cataract, the hotel featured in Agatha Christie's, Death on the Nile.

feluccas docked at Kitchener Island

Barrie and Sharon posing on a tree

Aswan, a city of 500,000 people is the largest city in Upper Egypt. It is a few kilometres from the site of two large dams--one built by the British for irrigation, and the larger great dam built by Nassar to supply hydro-electric power. The dam has created Lake Nassar, 500 kilmoetres in length, 10.5 wide, and 60 metres deep. The huge lake flooded the land formerly known as Nubia that stretched from the first cataract on the Nile to Kartoum (Sudan). The Nubians were displaced from their land and offered homes in other parts of Egypt. the Nubian language is oral and with the moving of the Nubians, the children attend school, where they speak Arabic. The Nubian language is now a threatened language.

The Great Dam is a military installation; were were able to leave the coach to look at both sides of the dam. Everywhere we went, armed soldiers were visible. At least 4 guards were stationed outside the temples, at the docks, and often the road narrowed to control traffic flow and to monitor security.

Abu Simbel was flooded as a result of the building of the Great Dam and an international effort to move it to a safe location was completed in 1970. Abu SimbuNefertari. Our trip to this site required us to begin our journey at 5:00 am in order to cross the 300 Kilometres of desert before the heat of the day became too intense. We were accompanied by an armed guard to protect us as we crossed the desert. We were stopped at several checkpoints to allow soldiers to verify our paperwork and purpose.

The entrance, flanked by 4 massive statues of Ramses II, is impressive.
 What is amazing is that the ancient Egyptian's knowledge of the solar system, calendar, and mathematics allowed the sanctuary to be illuminated twice each year, October 22 and February 22. The sanctuary is located 200 feet inside the rock. It contains 4 statues--Horus, Ramses, Amun-re, and Ptah, the god of the underworld. The sunlight penetrates the sanctuary to light the statue of Horus for 13 minutes, Ramses for 7 minutes, Amun-re for 5 minutes, and leaving Ptah in darkness.

On the walls of one of the smaller rooms is the written documentary of the Battle of Kadesh, listing the heroic exploits of Ramses II.

What cruise would be complete without festive dinners. The chef prepared several dishes--Egyptian and European cuisine-- each evening. the crew sang and danced for us prior to our Egyptian Gala; we all appeared dressed in galabia , head dresses, and other appropriate garments. Some of our fellow passengers improvised costumes; others purchased our special attire from the shop on board the Misr.

With one day left of the cruise, we were offered the opportunity to go up in a hot air balloon at dawn. I was quite apprehensive but the day was calm. we left the ship at 4:30 am, watched the sun rise over the west bank of Luxor, crossed the Nile on a small ferry, and arrived at the balloon launching area where we were met by our pilot who taught us the landing procedures and positions. At least 40 balloons were there awaiting passengers. It was wonderful to float above the city of Luxor, look over the Valley of  the Kings, and  watch the villagers start their day. We were high  above the Temple of Hatsheput, a very modern appearing temple in a great state of preservation. the colours insider her temple are brilliant.

aerial view of the temple

The blue sky, yellow stars are on the top level, Isis is on the left side of the 3rd level.

A visit to the Winter Palace, the temple of Luxor, and to the massive site of the Temple of Karnak  ended our events on the cruise portion of the trip. We were off to Cairo and Alexandria for more sight-seeing.