Thanks, Songdoc! I’ve no doubt that you will have an amazing experience on the Nile and November should be perfect. I’m so jealous- I want to go again!

Thanks for still following!

Tuesday, November 8

We wake up early but stay in bed till 7am till the power goes on. At first, it’s strange, but we quickly adjust. And the mornings are easy, with the crew setting up breakfast. And a word about the crew - they’re remarkable, they work very hard and genuinely seem warm and welcoming. I find them extraordinarily kind.

We stop at Gebel El Silsila, the location of a rocky gorge where the Nile narrows and where the bedrock changes from limestone to sandstone. This is the main source for the sandstone that was used in building temples throughout Egypt such as Karnak and the Ramesseum. Along the ridge, there are also many small chapels built into the rock, built by many of the important pharaohs of the New Kingdom.

Surprisingly, the really interesting part of the walk was seeing the quarry. Hamesh, our guide explained how the sandstone was mined and carved from the rock. I loved seeing the workers “grafitti” cut into the side of the rock face, too - it really brought to life the ancient workers.

We enjoyed exploring the small chapels and shrines, and even though they aren’t in great condition, there are interesting images carved into the rock as well as some with painting still on them.

After lunch (a lovely beans and tomato stew, pasta, tomato salad and eggplant dish), we visited Kom Ombo, a beautifully-sited temple at a bend in the Nile where crocodiles once came to sunbathe. The temple is unique in that it’s dedicated to 2 gods: Sobek, the crocodile god, and Haroeris, or “Horus the Elder”. The crocodile was sacred in ancient Egypt and was believed to be a symbol of power, virility and fertility.

Just beyond the temple complex is the Crocodile Museum, which contains, not surprisingly, mummified crocodiles and crocodile embryos (among other fascinating items!).

Gebel El Silsila was definitely a gem that we would not have seen if we had not travelled via dahabiya.

Your comment about power had me recalling my own experience. We had power and more importantly Wifi access 24/7, as I was working during much of U.S. daytime hours.

tripplanner,
The electricity on our boat is provided by a generator, and it�s off at night. There is A/C, though we never needed it. There�s a modem that is on during the day for everyone�s use but off at night, and the WiFi was nonexistent in the cabins. It definitely sounds like a more rustic boat than some of the newer ones, but for the few days we were in it, it really was heavenly.

One of the group had his own WiFi hotspot so he could work, though somehow, we all survived!



the dahabiya docked for our �picnic� dinner

Thank you for the review link, progol. We watched a few YT videos before we decided. We will be on the Dahabiya Zekrayaat for a 3 day downriver. Three days in one place is usually our ideal time limit for a place although we are bending that to four in both Cairo and Luxor for this trip. I hate to admit it but we are slowing down so adjustments have to be made. We need vacations within the vacations to catch our breath.

Ian, I hear ya loud and clear! We are also slowing down a lot - this trip wasn’t nearly as hectic as it reads as we had drivers everywhere shepherding us to all the sites. And we were almost always in by early evening - dinners in Aswan and Luxor were room service or leftovers, and in Jordan, almost always buffet at the hotel. But we did find the dahabiya very relaxing, even with sightseeing, and one didn’t have to go if they didn’t want to.

Gebel El Silsila


Approaching Gebel El Silsila


Entering the Speos of Horemheb, the small temple begun by the New Kingdom pharaoh


Fascinating art!


Walking toward the quarry




Hamesh


Pointing out ancient “grafitti” by the workers






Interior of a cave shrine


View looking out from a chapel


Ancient carved figures


Painting on the ceiling of the small chapel


The rock quarry which provided sandstone for many of the ancient temples throughout Egypt


Quarry


View of Gebel El Silsila from rhe water

Kom Ombo


Walking to the temple, we passed this wonderful building!


Entering the Temple of Kom Ombo, this unusual temple dedicated to 2 gods.












The well is said to be used to determine taxes. If there is a lot of water, it means there is a good harvest, translating to higher taxes.


Beautiful siting


stunning architecture


Mummified crocodiles!

Arriving back at the boat - our greeters

More WOWS!
You keep saying your trip wasn't "hectic", but I don't think my bad back and knees would hold up doing all you did!

More FABULOUS pix. I'm glad to hear that you didn't need a/c. From the way you were dressed it looks like the temps weren't too hot.
I especially love your "greeters" and the photo labeled "beautiful siting." WOW!

schmerl, Since we were getting driven from place to place, it never seemed all that hectic, and believe it or not, we weren't out all day long! We usually were back by mid-afternoon, and lazed about. M often napped while I uploaded pix to FB! There wasn't too much climbing or clambering, although that horse & buggy ride might've been a bit much!

Songdoc, thanks! Those photos you mention are some of my favorites, too!

Wednesday, November 9

The last full day aboard the dahabiya, and feeling a bit sad as it has been a very congenial group and the crew has been fantastic.

The plan for the day was to visit a camel market in the town of Daraw - except the camel market isn’t scheduled for the day we are scheduled to be there. Instead, we had a substitute, visiting a small barnyard, whose owner had a mother and baby camel as well as donkey and other farm animals. It wasn’t quite what we expected but it was an amusing interlude, especially feeding and making goo-goo eyes with a baby camel! Who knew feeding a baby camel would feature in our trip?

We continued on to the local market, catching a bit of local flavor, and, very importantly, finding an ATM to withdraw cash for the tips that will be handed out to the crew and guide tomorrow! Our group stops for coffee and tea at a local cafe before returning to the boat. While at the market, a charming young woman with more nerve than me, plunks herself down amongst a group of men who are playing dominoes. And somehow, they just go with it, not making a big deal or fuss.

We continue to sail on during lunch to El Koubania, a Nubian village near our final destination of Aswan. Unlike the earlier village visit, this one felt more relaxed and we felt welcomed. As we walked through the town, children, who’d clearly just come out of school, came up to us and said, “Ben, Ben!” Only later did we discover that they were saying,”Pen! Pen!” Egyptian doesn’t have the “p” sound! I wished I had a handful of pens and pencils to give out. Where I would t give money to kids, I wouldn’t hesitate to hand out supplies needed for school.

Nubia was once a kingdom that was perhaps where Egyptian civilization began. It was located south of the first cataract, originally and area between Egypt and Sudan. But in recent history, Nubia as a country no longer existed and had been divided between Egypt and Sudan. In Egypt, that comprised the area of Aswan and Abu Simbel. When the Aswan Dam was built, the Nubians lost their ancestral homeland and were relocated in small villages around the region.

While walking through the village, we passed many buildings with charming paintings of designs and figures on them, which is a distinctive feature of a Nubian village. In larger villages, the paintings are often brightly colored, and can be found around Aswan, where there are Nubian villages set up as tourist destinations. The village we visited is very small, and definitely not a typical tourist site, although we’re visiting it to meet some of the locals and to have a private performance by 2 of the local musicians, one on an oud and another with a drum. It was a bit artificial, but it was a good,performance , and we all enjoyed the interactions. It was fun, too, with a couple of local kids running in and out of the 1-room building we were all sitting in.

And back to the boat for the last night of our wonderful Nile adventure.

Early morning

Like you, we have always travelled independently so we have managed to avoid most of this. Our very well-travelled neighbours, who have been everywhere with ElderTreks et al, but experienced surprisingly little (if you know what I mean) . . . have always told us all about their meetings with tribal chiefs and elders and the dancing shows etc and how special these ‘encounters’ were. They seemed to somehow be oblivious to the fact that these were pre-arranged paid performances and the ‘natives’ would probably rather not put on their traditional outfits and stomp around for the rich tourists . . . but . . . it puts food on the table. I know, First World guilt.

Ahhh . . . I love that early morning picture . . .

Ian, I've been reflecting on our experience on the dahabiya, and still feel it was a highpoint, though even as I describe the activities, particularly on that last day, it sounds kind of hokey. I will add that the "performance" was very intimate, and the musicians were excellent; for a set-up event, it was very low-keyed. Yes, it was set up specifically for us -- and for the (modest) tips at the end, yet the entire dahabiya experience, with our small and (fortunately) very congenial group, and the interactions with some of the locals, plus the fact that we were FLOATING DOWN THE NILE, made it really a special experience. I think that last day was a bit of a stretch for the activities that we did, but they were fun nonetheless and were a welcome change from the heavy duty sightseeing.

Photos to come soon -- and the next part of this wonderful journey. It really was a journey on so many levels.

Morning View (2)

progol, just walking that narrow "plank" to get off the boat would be enough to make me nervous.

That early morn shot is your best. Maybe a candidate to enlarge and/or mat & frame? There's also picture-plaquing and the new metal variations (see DCD's fave recent deck shot).
Congratulations Progol, well-done.

I am done. the dahabiya

schmerl, I get it! But the crew were really helpful with tentative folks and that is my husband helping my fellow passengers!

zebec, that's my favorite shot, too. It's through the window screen - I woke up and saw that and grabbed my camera (umm, phone) and took the shot before it changed. If I waited to open the screen, I would've lost the picture entirely. It looks amazingly good considering the "filter" I shot through!

More to come....