Day Seven – Aswan & Abu Simbel
Abu Simbel
Up early at 4 AM to head to Aswan airport for a short flight over Lake Nasser to the more than 3,000-year-old Abu Simbel, a UNESCO World Heritage Site dedicated to Ramses II, one of the most active of pharaohs, along with the smaller temple dedicated to his chief wife Queen Nefertari. The front of the main temple has four gargantuan statues of Ramses II on his throne, each measuring nearly 70 feet high and discovered half buried in sand in 1813.
The original village of Abu Simbel is deep underwater of Lake Nasser after they built the upper dam. Lake Nasser holds about 32 cubic miles of water! The temple of Ramses II was cut into over 800 pieces and moved up to higher ground to prevent it from being submerged underwater. Ramses II also built a temple for Nefertari, his favorite wife, which was also moved and reassembled next to his.
Afternoon Tea at the Old Cataract Hotel
After flying back to Aswan and taking the bus back to the ship, we had some lunch and then had a couple hours to relax before heading back out to the Old Cataract Hotel, a 19th century Victorian Palace on the Nile crafted in rose granite , for afternoon tea at sunset. There were stunning views overlooking the Nile and Elephantine Island and the grounds were beautifully lit up with lights for Christmas.
Onboard Entertainment – Nubian Dancers
We returned to the ship in time for happy hour and a display of native Nubian dancing before dinner.
Day Eight
Temple of Philae
We took our buses early to catch a motorboat over to the UNESCO-designated temple of Philae. This site has some of the best restored and preserved hieroglyphs in Egypt. It was constructed between 380 BC and 362 BC and dedicated to the goddess Isis, the wife of Osiris and mother of Horus. This was another temple that was dismantled and moved to higher ground when they built the upper dam.
Nubian Village Hisa and Felucca Ride
Then we continued on to Hisa, a small Nubian village, where they shared their song and dance with us, and we were able to tour one of their homes to see how they lived. Their homes are typically painted in colorful colors. We then took the motorboat back to the buses, then to another dock to board a Felucca.
Felucca Ride
A Felucca is a traditional Egyptian sailing boat. We sailed down the Nile river which was peaceful once we got past all the cruise ships. We sailed back to where the ship was docked to grab some lunch on board.
Kom Ombo Temple
While we were eating lunch, they set sail for KomOmbo – a temple right on the banks of the Nile. οΏΌ This is the only temple that has been discovered that is dedicated to two gods β the crocodile god, Sobek, on the right; and the falcon-headed Haroeris, βThe Good Doctor.β οΏΌ As part of the worship of Sobek they would mummify crocodiles. οΏΌ
Galabeya Party
After dinner, we dressed in a traditional Galabeya costume and celebrated with the rest of the ship.
