Day 3 of Nile Cruise - Edfu Temple

 

Today we only have one destination - the town of Edfu, on the west bank of the Nile.  Here we'll visit the Temple of Horus, considered one of the best preserved cult temples.  It was built between 237 and 57 BC.  Ancient Egyptians believed that the temple was inhabited by the falcon-head God Horus, their divine protector.  Every year there is a coronation festival when a falcon is released in his honor.

Our location on the map:

While we continue cruising the Nile we watched an old movie "Death on the Nile," which was based on a book written by Agatha Christie.

Day 2 of Nile Cruise - Gebel Silsila Temple and Quarries, Besaw Island

 

Early this morning our yacht started sailing towards our next destination.  The breakfast outside was a lovely scene of the banks of the Nile.  Our first stop is at the Gebel Silsila Temple and Quarries.  The quarries are for mining sandstones, which are softer and easier to cut.  Many of the monuments in Egypt are built from sandstones.  They are not as hard as granite, which are often used for obelisks.

Carvings from the Temple

Sandstone that has been cut

Straight edge of sandstone that were cut

A group picture at the quarry

We'll follow up the quarry visit with a visit to visit a local farm in Beast Island  This is part of OAT's "A Day in the Life" series where we visit a local person to understand their lives, family and occupation.  The farmer's ancestors moved here after the Aswan High Dam was built.  The land was previously owned by weather landowners.  The farmers grow mango, bananas, dates, guava, and fish for tilapia and crawfish, which they export to other countries.  The farmer also grow other vegetables in the winter time - zucchini, okra, tomatoes, lettuce, etc.  They also have livestock that they care for.  We have to take a smaller boat to reach the farmer's island.

Visiting the village

A traditional oven

Explaining how he pumps water. In the background are banana trees and date palms

Gathering to talk about girls' education and lunch

That evening the yacht docked at a nearby village.  The crew set up a beautiful dinner with music to entertain us.  It was a departure from the typical on-board dinner.  Everyone enjoyed the surprise entertainment.

Cruising the Nile - Day 1

 

As we ate a beautiful breakfast outside on the deck of the yacht it was sailing to our first village of Daraw, where we will witness an outdoor livestock market.  A small boat took us closer to shore and we boarded tug-tuks for the ride to the village.

Tuk tuks

At the market where animals are ready to be sold or traded:

The village is a thriving marketplace:

Man smoking a hooka

Baking Egyptian bread

Butcher

Selling produce

Our next stop is the Temple Kom Ombo.  One side of the temple is dedicated to the crocodile god and the other to the falcon god.

Crocodile Museum

We returned to the yacht for another beautiful lunch.  We were allowed to relax while our yacht cruise downstream to the village of Fares.  Here we'll see a demonstration by a traditional craftsman showing how he builds different containers, tables, baskets, etc, using reeds that he harvest from the river and hand tools.

Mohammed explaining his craft

No special tools needed

He hand-made this table

As we ate dinner and relax for the evening we get ready for another busy day ahead.

Boarding the Dahabeya

River cruising has become very popular the last 20 years, especially in Europe.  The smaller boats allow you to dock at small towns and villages and explore the area.

The Nile River is no exception.  Many boats, big and small, cruise up and down the river.  It brings precious tourism dollars to Egypt and keeps the Egyptians employed.  

Overseas Adventure Travel has two versions of the Nile River cruise:  a 75-passenger 7-day cruise and a 16-passenger 5-day cruise.  I opted for the latter because the group will be smaller and the boats will be able to visit small villages and historic sites.  The itineraries are similar.

This morning we drove from Abu Simbel back to Aswan where we'll board our 16-passenger private yacht, the Asiya.  It is managed by a very experienced captain Yasir, and his 11-man crew.  Because of the varying weather and tide we have a tug-boat to pull us to wherever we want to go.  

Boarding the Asiya:

A couple of large river boats

I was surprised to see how beautiful the inside of the yacht looks.  This is no cheapie tour.  The entire yacht is laid with wood floors.  The furnishings are beautiful and felt luxurious.

Lounge and Dining Area

My Room

A quiet corner

Outside Deck where we have breakfast in the morning

Upper deck with hot tub

Our tugboat used to pull our yacht

Here are different angles of our beautiful yacht:

Our location on the first day: