We caught an overnight train to Aswan in the south of Egypt on May 29th. Our first class train seats were comfortable and air conditioned, although the bathroom looked like the lower level of an outhouse. After 14 hours in the train, we arrived to Aswan the following afternoon and visited two of the five Egyptian dams along the Nile River.
The High Dam (newer of the two) was completed in 1971 and generates roughly half of the country’s electricity supply. On the flip side, constructing the dam led to the creation of Nassar Lake, the world’s largest artificial lake and the subsequent flooding and and relocation of Nubian villages and monuments in the area. The dam stops the annual flooding of the valley along the Nile River which has had mixed results on the land. From the High Dam it is possible to see northern Sudan on a clear day.
On the way back to Aswan we visited the Philae Temples. The oldest remaining part of the temple was built around 400 B.C. and rulers of Egypt successively added their mark to the complex until as recently as 300 AD in worship of the goddess Isis. Later in the day we took a felucca (sailboat) around Elephantine Island and explored Aswan Botanical Gardens.
Day Two on the Nile:
We stopped off at Kom Ombo, the temple erected in honor two gods: Sobek, the crocodile god and Haroeris. Kom Ombo was a major trading port and was even a regional capital during the Ptolemic times. The mummified crocodiles are thousands of years old!
Day Three on the Nile:
We awoke to find our cruise ship docked in the town of Edfu the next morning. Edfu is largely an agricultural center and its specialty is sugar cane. The main tourist attraction is the Temple of Horus (falcon god), which is one of the best preserved temples in Egypt because it was built on higher ground and avoided seasonal flooding of the Nile. Construction of the temple began in 287 BC and was completed about 200 years later. Modern day Edfu was built on top of the sand covered temple until it was rediscovered excavated in the 19th century.
From Edfu, we sailed to Luxor and passed another small dam, which creates a disparity in the water level. Our ship passed through a locking gate system similar to the system used at the Panama Canal in order to continue down the Nile at a lower water level.
Day Four on the Nile:
Luxor, once known as Thebes, has been inhabited for over 8000 years. The city became the capital of Egypt around 2000 BC when Montuhotep II conquered and united all of Egypt. Luxor is also affectionately known as the hassle capital of Egypt and we certainly experienced our share of locals following us around offering to help with everything from carriage rides to carpet sales.
We made a quick stop at the mostly destroyed Colossi of Memnon and spent the morning in the Valley of the Kings, which houses tombs of the Pharaohs. The tombs date back to about 1500 BC and so far archaeologists have found over 60 tombs, the most recent discovered a few years ago – and they are still digging! The entrance ticket includes three tombs; we visited Ramses I, III & IX. The tomb of Ramses IX was especially impressive with much of the colorful hieroglyphics still intact.
The Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, the most powerful and important female ruler in ancient Egypt, was equally impressive, although most of the coloring has faded.
After recovering in the air conditioning of the cruise ship, we set out again in the afternoon to visit the very large Karnak Temple and Luxor Temple. Karnak is one of the largest ancient Egyptian monuments, constructed and added to for over 1500 years. No one knows why this site was so important, but one and a half millennium of rulers felt compelled to add their personal touch to the site in form of a kiosk, obelisk, sanctuary, pylon or temple. It is fascinating to observe the changing architectural styles over the years.
Luxor Temple is home of the picturesque valley of the sphinxes. Modern day Luxor still covers most of the avenue of sphinxes which runs 3km to Karnak. The temple itself was once underground. There is still a mosque on top of main temple where the street level used to be before excavation.
We headed back to Cairo with a renewed interest and appreciation for Egyptian history and mythology and humbled by the tremendous achievements of a great ancient civilization. The next time we will be more careful in selecting our tour guides: The first day the guide didn’t really speak English; the second was more interested in Nadia’s bosom than the temple; the third kept trying to make us pay again for things that were already included in our package; the fourth was great, in spite of the inevitable detour to the alabaster pottery shop. Upper (southern) Egypt is a must see!
