Beginning to feel I may have O.D'd. on ancient sights and monuments. Last Tuesday morning we had a brief jaunt around Alexandria; the Greco-Roman Museum, where there were some fine examples of craftsmanship from Egypt's Greco-Roman Period and the best of Alexandria's treasures. Pompey's Pillar - a massive thirty metre high hunk of pink granite, that was mistakenly credited to Pompey by the Crusaders - it was erected in 293 AD as part of a larger temple complex. The pillar is the only ancient monument remaining whole and standing in Alexandria. Next came the Roman catacombs of Kom el Shuqafa (meaning the 'hill of pot shards') which are beyond anything you can imagine. These catacombs, the largest known Roman burial site in Egypt, were discovered accidentally in 1900 when a donkey disappeared through the ground. They consist of three tiers of tombs and chambers cut out of the rock to a depth of some 35m. Finally, after another seafood banquet, we poked our noses in the Biblotheca Alexandria - boasting the world's largest reading area - and a lot of books. From here we were ushered back onto our bus and taken to Alexandria's main Railway station where the a train was waiting to take us south, back to Cairo and beyond.
We have a carriage reserved for our group, and being the only 'single' single person on the tour - I luck into a compartment all to myself. I settle in, kick off my shoes and take out my new book - Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie - hey, I'm nothing if not predictable huh? We trundle south, the carriage attendant, Khaled, kept up a steady supply of tea and biscuits - so civillised! After a couple of hours we reached the outskirts of Cairo - after the beauty of the wide open desert it looked big and ugly -but up close, it took on a more human scale once more. We had an hour in Cairo's Rameses Station before heading south once more. We followed the western bank of the Nile - catching glimpses of the Pyramids and Sphinx again as well as the ruins at Memphis before dusk turned to night. Dinner was Molokia (mallow leaves prepared with garlic, spices and chicken) and shammy (pita bread) - all washed down with karkadai (hibiscus tea - served sweet and cold) - I've told you what I ate, because it's about the first time in a week I've known! Turned in for the night somewhere beyond Tell el Amarna.
Daybreak on Wednesday and the train was standing in Luxor station, from here a half-dozen taxis ferried our happy little band to our Nile cruise boat, the MS Melodie. The boat, so we were told, had recently been refurbished throughout - and was again for the sole use of people travelling with this company - we weren't the only guests of course, there was another group who'd been on the train and others arrived on a flight later that day. As on the train, I got a single en suite cabin with a view across the river. The boat had a large sundeck with a Jacuzzi, dip pool and a covered terrace where you could, and indeed I did over the next few days, enjoy a drink in the shade whilst watching this fantastic country slip quietly past.
Later that morning we climbed aboard a touristy horsedrawn carriage and headed off along the banks of the Nile for a tour of the great temple of Karnak. An avenue of ram-headed sphinxes leads you up to the magnificent gates. Nothing however can prepare you for the sheer size and scale of the temple when you get inside. It was built by many pharaohs over a period of 2,000 years - each adding to, dismantling, restoring, enlarging, decorating but always trying to outdo their predecessor in architectural achievement. You could lose yourself inside forever, but another tame Egyptologist led us around, pointing out all the most impressive parts of the temple and giving a full insight into the lives of the pharaohs who worshipped there. Karnak is dedicated to Amun, the ram-headed Sun God - thought to be creator of all things, and the most powerful deity in ancient Egypt. See, this blog site is eduactional!
Late afternoon and the boat set sail. As we left Luxor, everyone was up on deck - cocktails in hand - sharing in the magic as the last golden rays of the day cast shadows across the city, bathing it in a warm glow. Later we took dinner as we drifted down the Nile, small villages and houses dotted the shoreline, feluccas and other cruise boats sailed past. So romantic - wish you were here to share Cx. We moored up for the night at Esna and in the morning continued onwards - to Kom Ombo. I woke late - we were already underway - showered, dressed. I took breakfast on deck, orange juice, scrambled eggs and toast, then spent the morning trying to read, but not managing a chapter - my gaze constantly being pulled to life on or beside the river. There were fantastic views of the small villages along the Nile Valley with palm tress nearly touching the sky, young kids playing on the banks of the river and fishermen casting nets into the waters.
It was just after lunch that we reached Kom Ombo and its temples dedicated to the Gods Horus and Sobek. The temple stands right on the banks of the Nile, so we could pretty much wander over and look around whenever the mood took us. It was beautiful, and it was hard to imagine anything more magical than wandering around the temple with its exquisite relief carvings, as the sun shone over the Nile colouring the stone a deep gold. God update; Horus is the falcon-headed god of all things living (every pharaoh was considered a human embodiment of Horus). Sobek is the crocodile-headed god of ... erm ... ooh ... actually, I can't remember. One thing I do know is that there are apparently no Nile crocodiles in the Nile any longer - at least they (whoever they might be), say not.
This morning (Friday) we sailed down to Aswan, where we've had the day pretty much to ourselves. I spent the afternoon strolling the streets of this beautiful and vibrant town - a whole world away from Cairo - the pace of life is so much slower and the town small enough to explore on foot - plus you don't get hassled for bakeesh everywhere you go. In Aswan the Nile is at its most picturesque with golden sand dunes coming right to the waters edge and scores of white sailed feluccas gliding around the islands. A bazaar runs the whole length of town and is crammed with shops and stalls selling everything imaginable - and one or two things not; was offered a postcard of a woman performing a sexual act on a donkey - a service a donkey wouldn't normally expect to receive - even from another donkey. As dusk fell I ate fuul and sipped more karkadai (think I'm becoming addicted), am now back on the boat now- in the purser's office - I'd asked if there was anywhere I could e-mail from, there wasn't, but he's unplugged the phone line so I can connect up via that! Dinner in a mo', then a late night stroll around the streets of Aswan, no doubt get hussled by some locals at backgammon - the game is something of a national obsession. Tomorrow we have a long day on the road - heading out into the desert to Abu Simbel - before starting back north towards Cairo via the Red Sea and Sinai.