Edfu

I spent the warm afternoon reading my book while lying in the sun, cruising down the Nile. What more could you ask for! That evening I abstained from bingo night on the boat in order to explore Edfu with Richard, the economist from Berkeley. As we walked around the town local children begging for money and attention surrounded us. The town was not nearly as big as Aswan or Luxor and I found it to be much more authentic. We witnessed groups of men playing dominos and smoking sheesha pipes in dingy cafes. Few merchants approached or bothered us despite the fact that we were walking down the biggest street in town.

Thursday morning our tour group visited the Temple of Horus. This temple was built by the Greeks and was built only 200 years before Christ was born. Upon first site the Temple of Horus looks similar to the older Egyptian temples, however Josef pointed out several subtle differences between the two styles. One of these distinctions included the gargoyle headed drain spouts, necessary in Greece but not in the arid Nile Valley. Another difference was the columns within the temple. The Egyptian columns only depicted papyrus and lotus, two plants that the Egyptians considered sacred. The Greek temple contained pillars representing palm trees, papyrus, lotus, and even grapes. The Temple of Horus also had the distinction of being the bastion for Mohammed Ali and his troops during his liberation of Egypt from Britain in the early 19th century. Evidence of his stay is still evident from the bullet holes around the sun disk over the temple entrance that was used for target practice.

We were given a few minutes to explore the temple before returning by bus to the boat, in order to depart for Aswan. I elected to walk back to the boat, against Josef's advice. Richard walked with me and we explored the shops as carriages rambled by. I was just mentioning to Richard how much I enjoyed the freedom of third world countries and the fact that life is not as automated as in the States a carriage came flying through the air and hit me in the arm. It seems that a dump truck had tried to pass the buggy but instead knocked it off the road. The carriage was visibly damaged and the owner was not happy. Soon a small mob had circled the truck and was trying to pull the driver down from the door. Instead he gassed the motor and left the scene of the accident. Not something that you typically see in the United States!

Richard and I made it back to the boat before the bus returned (partly due to the accident we witnessed) and shortly after we all set sail for Kom Ombo. During this time I just read and took a nap in my room. Unfortunately I got my times mixed up and I missed the trip to Temple of Sobek and Haroeris, another Greek temple. The others told me that the temple exhibited excellent design and symmetry. From Kom Ombo the boat continued on to Aswan, our final destination. When we arrived I avoided the galabiyya party in the bar in order to explore Aswan. I took a carriage ride through the souqs with a few of the others from my group before exploring on my own. The vendors in Aswan had an abundance of spices and fragrances for sale. They were also as persistent as the merchants in Cairo. I bought a drum and a few small souvenirs before returning to the boat for the night.

On to Aswan...