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The next day was an early morning rise (0445) to get to the airport for our flight to Luxor. We were greeted at the airport by another tour operator and dropped off at our cruise ship, The Festival.
The Nile Festival.
The Lobby of our boat.
The Restaurant where we had all our meals.
Looking from the Lobby upwards where our rooms were.
Yes, we were cruising down the Nile in a 5 star cruiser. In order to get to our boat we had to walk through the lobby of 4 other boats before setting foot on our vessel. That gives you some idea of how many cruisers there are, and this was only one line of ships, there were another probably 6 lines of 4/5 ships! That also tells you how big the Nile is! We quickly unpacked our stuff and then met with our new tour guide, Hani. We developed a good relationship with him as he was a similar age to us and he had a good sense of humour (or maybe just my sense of humour lol).
To get an idea about how the boats are all tied up against each other.
First stop on our long day was The Valley of The Kings. This is an area where most of the New Kingdom Pharaohs were buried in their elaborate tombs. There are currently 62 Tombs that are excavated with plenty more work going on finding others.
Models showing all the tombs and where they are located into the mountain.
The reason for them choosing this site is the mountain forms a natural pyramid and because it is in the west. This is important as the east was seen as new life or birth because the sun rose in the east and the west was seen as the resting place. The Suns journey takes it through the night to be re-born and because the Ancients believed in the after-life they wanted to pass like the Sun. Tombs for Pharaohs start to be built as soon as they take the throne as the time to build these things takes so long! The mummification process itself takes 70 days.
The Valley of the Kings with the natural pyramid located on the top of the mountain.
The first tomb we visited was Thutmes III and in his tomb was a well room just after the entrance. This was to protect the tomb from tomb robbers because they just fell in the well and couldn’t get out. Once again, the entrances into these tombs were small and it also got hot and stuffy as you went further inside. This tomb featured painted hieroglyphics and its just amazing to see the colours and ancient language.
We then went to see the tomb of Queen Tausert and Prince Setnakht. It was a 2-in-1 as mother and son were buried in the same place. The queen died first and then the son put an extension on her tomb to house his own resting place, which makes this the longest tomb. This tomb depicted carved hieroglyphics that were painted whereas the first only had painted hieroglyphics. We also saw Judgement in here from the Book of the Dead.
The next tomb we saw was that of Ramses IV and this had deeper carved hieroglyphics. We got our first introduction into the Coptic Christians here as they use to seek shelter and refuge in these tombs. There is a lot of defacing of the drawings in the tomb and also Coptic graffiti on the walls.
Once again there was another part that you had to pay extra for if you want to see it and here it was the tomb of Tut Ankh Amon. Now I was not going to come all this way and not go and see his famous tomb (even though its famous because it was the only tomb found with everything still in it – reason being is he built his tomb under an existing one). Tut Ankh Amon was Pharaoh from when he was 9 till he was 18 and he died due to an injury sustained after falling of his chariot while hunting. Alisa and her Parents had no desire to see his tomb so I was the only one that ventured down. His tomb was really small and yet so much stuff came out of it. I also stood by his mummy a while but we were in a rush to get round to everything else so I had to make it quick.
Shailen at the entrance of Tut Ankh Amon's tomb.
Next stop was the Valley of the Queens, which is just round the back of the Kings Valley. We went to see Queen Hatshepsut’s Tomb.
Shailen, Mum and Dad at Hatshepsut's Temple.
She was the Queen that considered herself a King and made up a story to convince everyone. She claimed (and had architects paint the story onto the walls) that she is the child of a divine marriage between her mother and a God. She even depicted herself as a man in drawings.
Can you spot the three that haven't been there for thousands of years? The statues are all made to look like men
We then stopped off at the statues of Amenthop III just outside of the Valley of the Kings. We took quick photographs and then made our way back to our boat for lunch – yes, it was only lunchtime!
Shailen with the Statues of Amenthop III. The one on the left is carved from just one block while the one on the right is made using many blocks.
After lunch we were then whisked away to Karnak Temple. Karnak Temple is HUGE; it measures about 1.5km by 800m and is a tribute to the Sun God, Amun-Ra. It was built by the King Seti I and completed by his son, Ramses II (Ramses II was a famous guy because he had 44 wives and about a hundred and something kids! He even married one of his daughters!).
Karnak Temple in all its glory! The sphinx lining the entrance have Ram's heads because the sun god is depicted as a Ram in the evening. In the morning it is a scarab beetle and at noon a sun disk.
It contains the largest Hypostyle Hall in the world and has no equal elsewhere. It consists of 134 columns representing the Papyrus flower and covers an area of 6000 sq meters.
What the temple looked like before restoration.
Some of the 134 columns. Once upon a time they were all coloured. It would have been an amazing sight to see.
This is the small surviving piece of original marble floor.
The two Obelisk at the Karnak Temple.This video shows tourists walking around a statue of a Scarab Beetle as they are told by the guides that if you walk around 7 times, you will have good luck (I just think its the story the locals make up to have a laugh at our expense LOL).
We then continued on to Luxor Temple, which was built by Amenophis III on the site of an older sanctuary. It was added to over the centuries by Tut Ankh Amon, Ramses II, Alexander the Great and various Romans. There is also a mosque that was just built on top of one of the court walls.
The entrance to Luxor Temple.
Luxor's very own Obelisk.
Statues of Ramses II
The old mosque located in Luxor Temple. The sand used to come up to the door you can see on the photo. They built the mosque here knowing that there was a temple underneath as the obelisk is taller than the mosque entrance.
It was originally joined to the Karnak Temple 4km away by an avenue of sphinxes (only part of this still remains).
On the way back to our “Floating Hotel” we stopped off and got some sugar cane to eat. Coming from Durban, I already had sugar cane many a times but it was the Dewsnips’ first taste of the sweet cane. They seemed to like the taste but didn’t like chewing the fibrous cane.
Shailen (the next day though) teaching us how to eat a sugar cane.
And so ended our extremely long day. We just relaxed for the night to get ready for our 5am departure as we start sailing up the Nile.
We decided to get up at 5am to see the ship leave as we had a little balcony and sliding door in our cabin – but then we went back to sleep LOL.
Shailen and I on our balcony as seen from Mum's.
We were finishing off our breakfast when we started to slow down and lowered the anchor to wait to pass through the locks at Esna. That’s when we saw a whole swarm of locals – in what we thought were fishing boats. They weren’t fishing but selling galabayas (local one piece mans robe), shirts and anything else that tourists will buy. They would stand on their little boats and then throw them up onto the ship for people to look at. We went up to the top deck and because or boat was not full (there were only 20 people on board when it can carry 120) there weren’t many locals around our boat. One local came over while we were up there and kept calling me “New Zealand” and threw up many things. We didn’t buy anything because they were over-priced and bad quality but other boats seemed to be buying quite a lot.
Looking out of the restaurant on our boat at the men trying to sell things.
Shailen looking very Egyptian, Dad not quite as much but still looking cool!
We waited for 2 hours before it was our turn to go through the lock. They take 2 cruisers at a time and these cruisers are built to just fit through the locks. These locks are just like the locks at the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal but on a much much smaller scale – Esna only has 1 lock whereas the others have several. It’s just to compensate for the different water levels.
The squeeze through the locks. There isn't much room for error.
The doors opening on the other side to let us through. We had now been raised about 30m.
While we were waiting to go through, we played table tennis and we also got to know a South African couple that were on the ship too (small world!).
The top of our boat where we spent our time relaxing.
The famous Table Tennis Table among the seats on the top of the boat.
Shailen still waiting for his Rose.... Another Titanic moment!We then docked at Edfu and had some free time before we went to Edfu Temple so we used that time to perfect our table tennis skills.
Then it was back into tour mode and we travelled to the temple 2km away in a horse and carriage. Edfu Temple is the largest and most completely preserved Pharaonic, albeit Greek-built, temple in Egypt for the God Horus. This temple took nearly 200 years to build. The Coptic Christians also used this place as shelter and there are remnants of their disregard for the place. They destroyed the carvings and statues as well as lit fires in the rooms and black soot can be seen on the roof.
Heading off to the Temple in our Horse and Carriage.
Entrance to Edfu Temple.
Mum and Dad with Horus, the Falcon, God of Protection.
Offerings to the God Horus.
Recreation of the boat used when Horus met his wife each year on the Nile. 
Alisa going down into the Nile water level room. Taxes were adjusted according to the level of the Nile. High level = high taxes (more water means more crops).
The crypts where the priests used to reply as the voice of the God.
Shailen's favourite god with his erection carved out.
This temple also had secret underground crypts that the priests used when visiting Pharaohs came seeking divine help. They would speak from the crypts pretending to be God! We found this most amusing
We caught the same horse and carriage back and when we got back to the ship we had to tip so we did. But then the guy started arguing saying that it’s too little (we didn’t know at this point that he was paid to take us too by the guide) and so we gave a little extra. The sheer audacity of these guys with tips! We never experienced anything like it. Then shortly after that our guide got into a heated argument (in Arabic) with one of the shop owners because he advised us not to go in as we were getting hassled. I liken the storeowners here to a flock of sea gulls fighting for a piece of bread. We pulled our guide away before anything happened (by this time we had a good friendship with our guide) and went to the ship to enjoy a few cocktails (alcohol free though) provided by the crew.
Mum and Dad getting into the spirit of things!
When we returned to our room we saw that there were scenes made with our towels by the person that turned down our beds. Every night was different and he sometimes used items around the room to create his ‘art’.
At this point I would just like to add quickly that in our room we had the most amazing shower ever! This thing had about 4 different modes (water coming from normal head, ceiling, bottom and foot massager) as well as lights, a fan, radio and phone. What more could you want?
The wonderful shower!
The next day was spent lazing about as we cruised further up the Nile (up the Nile means southwards further into Africa because the Nile flows from central Africa to the Mediterranean Sea). Alisa and I finally jumped into the pool on the Sun Deck. We didn’t go in before because the water was freezing, but it still was when we went in!!! We stopped off at Kom Ombo (which means Place of Gold) to see the Temple for Sobek, the Crocodile God. Sobek shares the Temple with Haroeris because when the temple was built for Sobek, Haroeris was angered and fled the region seizing his protection over them. So in order for him to come back they also put up a Temple for him. Its built on a site where crocodiles used to bask in the sun in Ancient times but due to the dam being built further upstream, they can't travel here. There are also mummified crocodiles that appear here. We also saw the Egyptian calender carved in the walls. There are 360 days plus an extra 5 days for each God, split into three seasons - Flood, Sowing and Harvesting - each consisting of four months. There were 10 days in each week and three weeks to each month. When added altogether, you get 411 which, coincidentally, is the number of workers the Pharoahs working for them - no more, no less.
The crocodile mummies.
The two crazy boys (Shailen and our guide Hani) outside Kom Ombo Temple.
It is also unusual in that, architecturally, everything is doubled and perfectly symmetrical along the main axis of the temple. We also see for the first time that they had dovetail joins between the massive blocks of granite. Another interesting fact was that this temple was also used as a hospital and there are hieroglyphics detailing the medical instruments. The God of Medicine graces the walls here and he is Imhotep. Imhotep is also the 'father' of the first step pyramid in Saqqarah. There is even a depiction of a birthing stool (Yes!! woman gave birth sitting up in those days!)!!
Dove Tail joint that housed the sycamore bark. When it was wet it expanded thus holding the granite blocks together.
Once again we saw the crypts that the priests used.
It was then back to the boat for the final leg of our voyage. We were on our way to Aswan, Egypt’s southernmost city. That night I found my bad luck continued…I realised that my phone was stolen. The last time I had it was when we went through the locks at Esna, which was 2 days ago! I never took it off the boat because it didn’t work here. So now I don’t have my wonderful Nokia 6110, neither do I have my NZ Vodafone sim card! And to put icing on the cake, my watch glass was cracked! No luck at all.
We stayed overnight on the ship and then the next morning left to see the High Dam and the Temple of Philae in time to be back to do our Felucca ride in the afternoon.
First on the agenda was the High Dam (Hydro-Electric Dam) that was built in 1960 and replaced the smaller dam that was built in 1902. It took 18 years to build and is 3600m across, 980m wide at its base and 111m high at its highest point. About 35000 people helped build it with 451 losing their life during construction. It was too expensive for the Egyptians to fund so they looked to foreign countries to help fund it. The USSR agreed to fund it in exchange for free trade of Egyptian cotton. When it was completed the water that collected behind it became Lake Nasser, the worlds largest artificial lake. The lake is about 500km long and at times 7km wide! In creating the lake a number of Pharaonic monuments had to be taken to pieces and rebuilt at new sites above the risen water line. We were disappointed with the Dam because you didn’t really feel like you were on a dam and there were no real views. I guess we just got used to seeing ‘Spectacular’ things lol.
Me, Shailen, Mum and Dad on the High Dam.
The five of us at the monument dedicated to thank the Russians for their support in building the High Dam.
The Temple of Philae is one such Pharaonic monument that had to be relocated from its original island to its present resting place. The temple is dedicated to Isis, who found the heart of her slain brother, Osiris, on Philae Island (now submerged). We had to catch a little motorized boat out to the island and so once again we had to tip the driver!
Philae Temple.
The first Christian Altar in Egypt.
Watermarks can be seen from when part of the temple was under water. Coptic Christian symbolism is prevalent at this site with many crosses carved into the walls. There is even an altar in the hypostyle hall when they converted it into a chapel.
We headed back to our boat and relaxed. Alisa wasn’t feeling to well with an upset stomach that we all seemed to get by the end of our stay in Egypt – at least it didn’t stop us doing any of the activities.
The felucca ride was pleasant but I think we were in too large a vessel for the 5 of us. However, the captain was really pleasant and he was singing and dancing (and yes we had to tip again). We just went out on the water for about an hour and when we got back, once again he asked for more tips. We weren’t even being stingy and giving them small amounts (this applies to all those people that asked for more)!
The many Felucca's on the harbor.
Me, Shailen, Mum and Dad on our Felucca.
That night our ship hosted a belly dancer :D sounds better than it actually was but there was this guy that came on after the lady and he was just spinning round and round for seriously about 7minutes, continuously!!!
That night was our last on our Floating Hotel and the last with our guide Hani. He was a great guide and a good friend and hopefully we meet again.
We arrived back at the Nile Hilton on Friday and when we checked in they offered us their Suite on the 9th floor at no extra charge, so hell yeah we took it! It was a massive corner room overlooking the Nile with a full on lounge and massive 2 bathrooms – it only had 1 bedroom but that was cool, Alisa and I just got roll-away-beds.
When we checked out the next morning, one of the porters (he was a friendly guy that helped us the first time we stayed there) gave Alisa and I a little teddy bear as a departing/Christmas gift. We said goodbye to our lavish living, as that was the end of the tour and the end of Egypt for us…for now…
I was told to prepare myself for some cold weather as we were now on our way to Istanbul, Turkey…
Damage report after Egypt: -
- 4 upset bellies
- 1 stolen mobile phone
- 1 cracked watch face
- 1 mp3 player not working
- 2 large papyrus paintings (although this is also a good thing)
- And a MAJOR dislike for tipping!!! Its gotten out of hand in some places. It used to be that you tipped for great service but now it seems you have to tip no matter what!
