AGAINST ALL ODDS WE ARE IN EGYPT. Virtuosa didn’t run aground in the Suez Canal. The passenger mutiny never came to fruition and we weren’t boarded by pirates. So despite the fact that we docked in Dubai not Abu Dhabi, we managed to make our flight to Cairo on Thursday. And after a night in the Novotel at the airport, EgyptAir whisked us onward to Aswan where we were booked a 2-night Nile cruise downstream to Luxor.
Ooops! This is Dubai, not Abu Dhabi
More than 100 cruise ships ply the Nile from Luxor to Aswan and back. Ships normally carry 150 passengers—75 under Covid conditions—but there are only 25 of us on M/S Monica. We had visited Abu Simbel in 2006 so we opted for the 2-night cruise this time. Those who had booked the 3-night package were out on the Abu Simbel excursion so we had the dining room to ourselves for lunch. We ate alone at the “American” table—most of our fellow passengers are from Spain—but Mustafa says there is another couple from the US who will join us at dinner.
M/S Monica, one of 100 Nile cruise ships
Parked 4 deep and you have to cross from one to another
They're not pretty . . . but they are slow
Nile cruises sail from Aswan at one to two-hour intervals, each ship with basically the same itinerary. Monica was last to depart so we arrived at Kom Ombo around 6 PM and had to jockey for a parking slot. Approaching at night gives Kom Ombo the a Vegas flair, especially with a dozen or more ships reflecting brightly on the Nile. It was a mob scene as we approached the site but as those from other boats drifted back for dinner we found ourselves pretty much alone. Kom Ombo, “hill of gold,” is dedicated to the crocodile god, Sobek and Horus, the falcon-headed deity. It reached its peak under Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysus around 300 BC.
Welcome to Las Vegas, I mean Kom Ombo
Kom Ombo at night
Columns representing Papyrus
We also visited Kom Ombo in 2006 but had to refresh our memories with Internet downloads and by re-reading our journals. Thus armed we skipped Mohammed’s spiel and went off on our own. It’s easy to get confused by the pantheon of Egyptian deities and their alter-egos. Don’t worry about trying to assimilate the thirty Dynasties and their years. You will never understand the pharaonic propaganda of the hieroglyphs. Just remember that Egypt is old. Really, really old. Although the temple is more than 2000 years old it is “young” by Egyptian standards. Egypt, after all, had been around for almost 3000 years when Kom Ombo was built!
Crocodile-headed Sobek
Wall relief with Falcon-headed Horus
Isis annointing Neos Dionysus
Lion-headed Isis
We crossed the forecourt with its 16 broken pillars and entered the Vestibule with its 10 columns and a mural showing Neos Dionysus being blessed by a lion-headed Isis while Horus stands by. The Vestibule leads to the Hypostyle with ten more ornately carved columns. The electric lighting sharpens the reliefs and murals but the different sources play hell with proper exposure for digital cameras.
Making our move in the backstretch
The carriages were waiting on the quay at 6:30 to trot us to Edfu. For a while it looked like we might Place but old Number 11 faded in the stretch and finished a respectable fifth overall. This was our welcome to the Temple of Horus at Edfu, just more than halfway between Aswan and Luxor.
Temple of Horus at Edfu
Horus, aka the Falcon-headed Dude
Connie in Hypostyle Hall, Edfu
Edfu, like Kom Ombo, had its heyday during the reign of Ptolemy. Stone reliefs of falcon-headed Horus singing the praises of Ptolemy Pharaoh Neos Dionysos adorn the entrance of the Great Pylon along with heroic statues of the falcon.
Wall Relief with Horus, Edfu Temple
After a bit of a wander on our own our horse sauntered back to Monica for breakfast and the long cruise down to Luxor where we spent the night onboard.
