November 13 - Colossi At Night

There is a little restaurant directly across the road from the Colossi of Memnon.  It is run by a family who have a little farm in the area that is their main livlihood now that tourist numbers are so low.  The food there is very simple and fresh - the chicken and vegetables come from their farm, and if you order fish a boy slips out on his motorbike and makes a dash for the market in the village.  I suspect they have so little money they can't buy in any food unless their is a live customer sitting at the table waiting for it.  Here is the view from my table the other evening:

November 13 - Musings

I had lunch at the hotel today, it really is a very pretty spot to sit in the garden and eat a very well-prepared piece of chicken and assorted green things.

There is quite an eccentric mix of people eating here today:  The German archeologists are huddled around their usual table.  They are a funny bunch, totally ignoring everyone outside their own little group, never even a smile or a nod to anyone else.  Some of the long-term residents are in a bit of a snit about this, especially as they are also German.  The archeologists leave quite early for their morning at the Amenhotep Temple project, then come back about lunch time to spend the rest of the day in their solitary huddle.  Apparently they are sponsored by Mercedes Benz Egypt, so instead of a five-minute walk back and forth to the Temple, they progress quite grandly in several very glossy black Mercedes people movers.

The long-term residents are at their usual tables.  There are two German gentlement who are never seen apart, and never seen without their Panama hats, even at ten o'clock at night.  They spend much of the day writing furuiously in little leather notebooks, occasionaly going out for an hour or two.  Nobody has any idea what they actually do.

There is a pleasant German lady called Ursula who has been coming here for a month every year for the past forty years.  She was here years ago on the terrible day when terrorists shot up the tourists at Hatshepsut's temple.  She persists in filling me in on all the horrible details (usually in the middle of a meal), although I  frankly would rather not hear about it.  

Then there is a big table of convivial Brtish ex-pats.  They are retirees stretching their pensions  in showy but jerry-built villas over near the Nile.  Their conversation is a little loud and self-conscious.  They want everyone to believe how well they are living, and what a good time they are having.  They might then believe it themselves.  Once satisfactorily fed and exhibited, they leave in a cloud of french cigarette smoke and floaty scarves.

Klaus, the German manager, circulates among all the tables.  He sldes easily between German, English, French, Arabic, as the need arises.  He is presumable the reason this place is so aggresively clean.  The floor tiles are like mirrors, sheets and towels are blinding white, and my cotton nightie has so much starch I crackle when I roll over in bed.

A few more shots of the hotel:

These are pictures of the indoor dining room, used only in the colder winter months or during the occasional rainfall.  The room has been decorated over the years by a variety of artists who have stayed here.  I will miss this place when I move across the river to experience the busier side of Luxor life.

November 15 - Abydos and Dendara

Abydos and Dendara need some sort of hired transportation to get to as they are some distance from Luxor, so I had a guide and driver.  These are two of the most important temples in Egypt, so well worth the trip.  My driver, a local boy, thought he could do rather better on the back agricultural roads than the four hours it takes to Abydos using the 'proper' road, which is the only road tourists are meant to use.

So, first step is to wend our way through various little villages until we get to a hilltop where he can see the back road for miles and make sure a police checkpoint hasn't popped up on it somewhere.  The coast was clear, so off we went.  Good paved roads in some areas, rutted tracks in others, and a fair bit of paddock bashing.  Once or twice we had to stop so the driver could haul men out of village coffee shops to move their motor bikes/donkeys/goats so we could pass by on the narrow tracks.  But he was right - we were there in about two and a half hours instead of four.  The driver did get an almighty telling off from the police at the entrance to Abydos, as they had seen us arriving via what seemed to be a disused brick yard, rather than coming up from the main road.  But they only bellowed for a bit, no waving of Kalishnakovs, so they weren't really that flapped about it.

The Temple at Abydos is one of the most important in Egypt, for a number of reasons.  Abydos is the most ancient and sacred holy place in Egypt, as legend has it that the head of Osiris was buried there after his brother chopped him up into 14 assorted pieces. 

The main Temple was built by Seti I, and has the most exquisite raised relief sculptures in all of Egypt.  Son Ramses added some bits, but they are nowhere near as fine.

Photographs don't do the Temple justice - the scale and sense of majesty that one feels in the place can't be captured by a camera.

There is one long hall, called the Hall of Kings, where the names of every Pharoah is recorde (except for Hatshepsut and Akhenaten).  This has been of enormous value to Egyptologists trying to sort out reigns and dynasties.

This is what the wall looks like, miles of these cartouches, floor to ceiling on both sides of the hall, and a rather charming relief of Seti instructing a young Prince Ramses on his predecessors.

These three salvaged heads, mounted near the exit state at us in eery uncomprehension.

Behind the main Temple is the most sacred spot in Egypt - the Osireon, where the the Head of Osiris is spposed to be buried. It is a small building, and a bit of a mystery as to what its layout and function really are.

Here it is, The water in it is permanently there, and there even quite large fish living in it.  It dates back to a very early time, so the construction is quite simple and lacking in the decoration that developed in later times.

November 15 - On to Dendara

This is one of the best temples in Egypt for being able to see colour close to the original intention.  There has been quite a bit of careful restoration done in recent years,and I can see how much has been achieved just in the past four years.

This temple is dedicated to Hathor, wife of Horus and goddess of joy, love, and motherhood.

Here is Horus keeping an eye on things from this ceiling.

One of the absolute best things about this temple is the hidden crypt you can go down into if you are sufficiently agile, and the Guardians are feeling sufficiently benevolent.  My guide was able to ensure a sufficient level of benevolence with some folding green, and I was able to fold sufficiently to make it down the steep stair and narrow passageway.  the crypt is a long, narrow chamber with the most beautiful and intricate painted relief carving.

The clour here does no justice to the original, as the light is rather iffy down there, and flash is out of the question.  The original purpose of the crypt is not known, but it is believed to have probably been a place for serious mediation for priests advancing to higher levels of the priesthood.

and lastly, on the back wall:

The only know images of Cleopatra and her son Caeserion (She is on the right, he is the small figure in the middle, wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt,

And so, back to Luxor - on the back roads, making great time.

November 16 - The Other Luxor Hotel

I had decided to split my Luxor stay over two hotels to enjoy the very different aspects of the two Banks.  The West Bank is quiet, almost rural, and my hotel there fitted right in with the peaceful ambiance.  In contrast, the East Bank is a zoo - a very noisy zoo, but not without its charms.

This room has a television, the first I have seen since arrival.  To see what was on offer, I spun the dial around to the only English speaking channel (from Dubai).  And what was on but Britain's Got Talent, with that dreadful Simon person pontificating.  Haven't turned it on since.

I have been staying at the Nefertiti, which is one of the oldest of the boutiiqe (read small and cheap) hotels.  It is wedged between Luxor Temple and the tourist Souq, the Souq probably being the noisiest place in Egypt.  By day it is screaming merchants, motorbikes, and the cries of tourists being eaten alive by the shlock merchants.  By night, the locals have a loudspeaker system playing Egyptian pop music for the entertainment and edification of the whole of Luxor.  The main speaker is just under my window.

No complaints, though.  The room is clean, bed is comfortable, water is hot, staff are obliging, and the  restaurant is good.

The rooftop sitting area - great spot for breakfast or lunch, and after-dinner tea and shsiha.

View from the rooftop across to Luxor Temple.  What you might call centrally located.

Outside, the hotel has its own alley, where the main dining room is located.  After a long day in Temples. and just ambling around the town, it is nice to not have to go far for dinner.  The food is very good.  I must see if I can find some Egyptian recipes to try at home.  They have a talent for using spices in  a way that has great flavor without being at all hot.  

Just paid the bill, by the way, as I have an early morning departure for Aswan.  Three nights, three breakfasts, three dinners, lunch box for tomorrow came to AU$180.  

November 16 - Luxor and Karnak Temples

Just a quick note about the next couple of days:  I'm not sure waht kind of wifi I can expect in Aswan, so if no news for a couple of days, not to worry.

What can one say about these Temples?  The photos I have - I will put in a few - can't convey the impact, especially Karnak Temple.  I went to the Sound and Light Show at Karnak last night.  A bit cheesy, but none the less impressive.  The show starts at the front entrance to the temple, and progresses through the length of the temple with the major features illuminated.  It is quite impressive, really, much better than the one at Giza.

I didn't bother with a guide for these Temples.  The main features have some descriptive sign boards, and there are enough guided tours going through for one to be able to attach oneself to the periphery of a group and listen in on the guide's spiels.  I have to say that the guides I had for other sites were all far better than the ones I have been hearing here, so I'm glad I didn't waste my money.

Main Pylon entrance to Luxor Temple.  Very much on a grand scale.

Such a haunting face.  I think it is Ramses II, looking pensively out on the crowd - mainly Germans grinding cigarette butts out everywhere, Eastern Europeans shedding trash as they go, and Americans wailing to have just discovered that if they don't pay for the extra side trips on their tour they will spend the rest of the day shut up on their bus while the paying customes are herded of on the side trips.  Oh the joys of independant travel!

I love this painted fresco added by the Romans, fading but still full of life.

Here is Karnak  

The Avenue of Sphinxes leading to the Pylon entrance.

An Avenue of Rameses.

Everywhere remnants of Gods and Men who thought they were Gods.

The sheer size of these columns, the enormity of the accomplishment is hard to comprehend.  

Another haunting face; Amun Ra.  Oblivious to the crowds, He is staring off into some private eternityof his own.

On the way back from Karnak, my caleche driver hijacked me to follow the trail of the Avenue of Sphinxes that once connected Luxor and Karnak Temples.  This Avenue is slowly being reconstructed, but there is a long way to go.

Imagine having these Sphinx remnants outside your front door.  These people are lucky - had the remnants been under the house as was the case with many others, the house would have been bulldozed to clear the Avenue.

I think I am pretty much caught up now.  Tomorrow my car will collect me at 7:00 for a full day dirve to Aswan.  I'll be back as soon as wifi allows.  

November 15 - Catching Up..

I wasn't able to send anything from Aswan.  The guest house I was staying in did have internet, but it flckered in and out constantly, and I couldn't get it to hold long enough to send a post.  I am in Abu Simbel now, and the internet here seems to be quite good, so far. 

I went to Aswan from Luxor by road, something that can only be done by hired car - it needs permits and all sorts of military nonsense.  The government claims it is because of the Muslin Brotherhood, which is rubbish.  Actually, if the Muslin Brotherhood didn't exist the government would have had to invent it.

But it is an interesting drive.  There are several very interesting temples on the way down.  El Kab is quite obscure, and seldom visited.  It has several very old tombs cut into a hillside, but the light is too poor to get decent pictures, and flash is out, so I have no useful pictures of that.

We stopped at Kom Ombo.  This Temple was dedicated to the Crocodile god Sobek, and Horus.  It was a centre of healing and medicine in its day.

One of the newer temples, these massive columns show the Ptolemaic Macedonian influence - the tops of the pillars are more Greek than Egyptian.

These two pictures might interest Anne.. This illustrates a childbirth stool.

These are medical implements.  The round balls on the bottom left are cupping vessels, the spoon-like gadgets on the  right are curettage scrapers (ouch).  The bits and pieces above are various surgical tools - sorry the picture isn't better, the image was very high up on the wall.

On to Edfu.  This is supposed to be one of the best preserved Temples in the country, built by one of the Ptolemies , I'm not sure which one, the builders wen't sure either.  The place is full of blank cartouches - the Ptolemies bumped each other off so regulary, the sculptors left cartouches blank to fill the name of the current specimen when the work was finished.

Again Greek influence in the pillars.  The Ptolemies were very clever, they didn't try to supplant the ancient  Egyptian religion.  Rather, they insinuated themselves into, using the approval of the Egyptian Gods to validate their reign.  

My guide took me round the back of the sanctuary where there is a long, narrow corridor, and an odd tunnel arrangement that seems to go nowhere.  Well, guess what.  Speak into that tunnel, and your magnified voice booms eerily down the corridor, into the outer part of the Temple.  Very handy.

This is the Sanctaury - the solar boat is a replica, the French pinched the original.  Imagine standing there and hearing the booming voice of Horus or whoever was the god du jour.

Love this Horus - he has a wonderful sneer, and is possibly the only Horus in all of Egypt who still has his beak and crown and other bits intact.

November 20 - Aswan Hotel

Aswan is in many ways a much quieter city than Luxor, except for the drivers.  Wheras in Cairo or Luxor, drivers are reasonably willing to let pedestrians arrive unscathed at the the other side of the road, as llong as it is not actually necessary to slow down or otherwise give way.  Aswan drivers see pedestrians as targets, and you need to be quick - it is not unlike a sideshow shooting gallery, and we are the ducks.  Come to think of it, 'duck' is the operative word.

In both Luxor and Aswan, they have introduced a new scheme to get people to pay attention to traffic lights, usually just perceived as a little bit of roadside sparkle.  Instead of a yellow light, we have a red and a green, and a countdown timer light in between the two, which counts down the seconds until the light changes.  It seems to be working, at least to some degree.  Instead of just happily bulldozing through red llghts, they now stop at the red, with engines gunning.  The instant the countdown timer gets to about 2 or 3 seconds, the starter's flag drops, and they are off in a scream of brakes and dust worthy of Le Mans.  Meanwhile, cross traffic sees the timer is about to change the light, and are madly  rear-ending each other to clear the intersection.  It seems to have become a whole new urban sport.

In Aswan I am staying in a little guest house over on the West Bank, in the centre of the Nubian community.  The situation of the Nubians is a sad one.  Nubia, the entire length and breadth of it, has been at the bottom of Lake Nasser since the building of the High Dam at Aswan.  The Nubian people, displaced and left to sort themselves out as best they could are scattered throughout Upper Egypt in small communities from Aswan south to Abu Simbel, doing their best ot hang on to their language and culture,  It is a losing fight I fear, but they are trying very hard to keep their identity.  

The guest house I am staying in is run by a lovely Nubian called Habib.  The hhouse is built in traditional Nubian style with high domed roofs.  Here are some pictures.

The sitting room very comfortable, with a big tv to catch up on news on CNN, or just relax with a book.

Nubians love colour, and paint the insides and ousides of their houses with lovely designs.

There ar only four rooms, mine is at the end of this hall, just before the stairs to the roof.

Stairs down from the roof.  Quite scary.

Communal dining room where everybody staying in for dinner sits down together to eat whatever Habib's sister the cook has decided is the meal for the day.  She is a good cook, the meals were excellent.

I had a pretty room with windows directly opening onto a Nile view, just a donkey's length away.  Pictures did not come out well, glare from window created problems.

View from the roof, very pretty at night with the lights of Aswan twinkling. We sat there after dinner every eveining, Habib, me and other assorted guests - a young Spanish couple, an English nurse, and later, some girls from Cairo.  Tea, thick Turkish coffee, shisha, and conversation.

 

November 21- Aswan Days

Just as an aside, reading over some of these posts, I must apologise for the typing - I am using an iPad mini, with an equally mini keyboard, often balancing the works on knee.  The spell checker has a rather sullen relationship with the blog app - it knows a word is spelled wrong, but won't come out and say so until specifically asked, which is all just a bit futile.

Here on the West Bank, just behind the guest house, up a fairly steep hill is a collection of tombs seldom seen by visitors, but well worth the climb.  These are a collection of of tombs of Nobles built over a fairly long time.

First obstacle to climbing the hill are the cameleers.  Over the hill from here are a couple of sites, including the Monastery of St Simeon, traditionally visited by camel.  However, I decided I was not going to be swept off into the desert in the arms of a cameleer who bears a greater resemblance to his own camel than to Rudolph Valentino.  Actually, that statement is really a bit unfair - to the camel.

From the bottom, looking up.

From the top looking down.  Very pretty, but I didn't do too much looking down as there is a cliff-edge goat track connecting the tombs, and I am leaping along behind an ancient Tomb Guardian, who I swear is laughing himself silly.  

These tombs are kept locked, so the Guardian comes along to open the door, turn on the lights, and stick out his hand.

One of the tombs, from the entrance.

Same tomb, closer view of the picture seen at the very end in the previous picture.  The colours are remarkable, possibly the freshest you will find anywhere in Egypt.

Remnants of an early Christian church, built in and around some of the tombs.

Spent one afternoon drifting around on a felucca.  This is a lovely way to travel on the Nile.  Going upstream is rather easy, as the wind blows upstream.  Downstream is a bit more challenging as ithere is tacking all the way, requiring considerable gymnastics from the captain, as all the ropes tht need yanking are at the opposite end to the tiller.  (Sorry Anne and Dave, sailing vocabulary rather lacking.)  Whille tacking, the felucca captains seem to make a bit of a game of how close they can come to rocks, cruise boats, docks without actually hitting them.  They are very good at what they do, with remarkable sontrol despite wind and swift water.

The felucca dropped me off on Kitchener's Island to walk the length of the beautiful botanic gardens, originally created by Lord Kitchener after he was given the island in the late nineteenth century in recognition of his Sudan campaign.  This is probably one of the few places in Egypt where there are rubbish bins at intervals, and gardeners pick up rubbish as fast as it is dumped.

A Kitchener's Island snippet.

On the felucca.  I have been avoiding too many pictures of me, there are quite enough old ruins here without adding to them.

Here we have a very traditional scene, man rowing a boat around Elephantine Island.  Peaceful tranquility, entirely removed from the world, until you see the enlargement, below:

  

It must be quite a trick to row a boat with a smartphone clamped to your ear, but I have never seen a more phone-mad population.

It isn't hard to see how Elephantine Island got its name.  The huge rocks around the edges look for all the world like elephants standing in the water.

November 24 - Abu Simbel

Flew down to Abu Simbel without any dramas.  I left my bag at the Aswan guest house, and just took a few things in my small backpack.  The hotel in Abu Simbel is another Nubian, called Eskaleh, which is the Nubian word for waterwheel.  It is a rather larger and more ambitious place than the little one in Aswan, but the little Aswan house was the winner for simple friendlyhospitality.

Still, it was a very comfortable environment for a short stay, and by far the best proposition in Abu Simbel.

My room, complete with dressing room, bath, and private patio.

The little patio, very pleasant place for a glass of wine before bed.

One of the internal courtyards.

Main dining/lounge area.

View from the rooftop lounge.

The water wheel that gives Eskaleh its name.