We overnight at Wasi El Seboua, and start our day very early.

Breakfast at 5:45-6:45, then at 6;50 we board the skiff to visit the Valley of the Horns – a collection of 3 wonderful Nubian temples that have been saved from Lake Nasser.

The first temple is the largest of the two – and has an entrance protected by a row of Sphinx – body of a Lion, Face of either a King or a God. The idea is that you are being protected by the King or God – and he has the strength to protect you!

Like all the other temples in the Nubian area – it was rescued from the rapidly approaching waters of Lake Nasser. And I’m so glad they saved it.

Hassien shows us the smaller statue of a woman (labeled sister/bride) hidden behind the large statue of Ramses II. I think to myself – how cool is it to have a guide that can READ hieroglyphs.

The drawings inside are in excellent condition – given that they are 4000 years old – dating from Ramses II.

The first part of the temple has no roof but they have protected it from the birds by wire fencing – and the drawings are not colored – but they are brilliantly detailed. I’m particularly impressed by the drawing of a boat carrying the God/King. It looks so like the one in the GEM museum. Amazing.

One wall carving that Hassien highlights for us shows someone offering the king burning inscense on the end of a long pipe. Looks very similar to pipes I remember from the 60’s!

Leaving the temple – and going back into the sunlight is a stunning exerience. The sky is so clear, the scenery so dramatic. Wow.

I think the most impressive part for me were the Sphinx. Several are completely intact – and Ramses II is clearly the face – including the double crown of Egypt.

It is a rather long walk from the first temple to the 2nd – and up a rather high hill – but they provide transport in the form of a cart pulled by a motorscooter. As two of the more senior in the group – both of us are offered a seat – I gladly take advantage and take the ride. I’m glad I did too – it’s not ‘hot’ but it is getting warmer, and the walk is significant. And of course – there’s no shade.

The 2nd temple – the Temple of Dakka – is much smaller – a simple one room chapel that was started in the 3rd century BC and worked on during the reigns of Ptolemy IV, VII and the Roman Emperors. IE: it took 400 years to build! Think of that for a moment. At least they get the prize for determination.

There is quite a bit of ancient graffiti – and when the chapel became a church, some of the Egyptian art was ‘removed’ (aka chiseled out) as inapporiate. We have seen this before – and will see it again. I get it – but it is a shame when the faces of god’s are destroyed because they are deemed ‘bad’.

It is this temple that shows the marks of the Roman’s sharpening their swords on the outter walls. Inside there are wonderful carvings – including one that shows a young King receiving food from a god. You know that it’s a young King because he has no beard, only a side lock of hair. And he’s sucking his thumb. Hassien comments that the artists in Nubia weren’t very good at conveying the idea of a young person – so it’s a adult face – but with childish features. Cool, eh?

He would have been nude – but the ‘wallet’ as Hassien puts it has been chiseled away – deemed inappropriate for a church wall!

This editing has been repeated in other places as well.

There is a tiny inner chamber that has the best of the carvings – most intact and most beautiful. The fun of this chamber is that there is room for 2 at the most so we must wait our turn to enter!

Again – the change for inside to outside is stunning. I wonder if that was part of the original intention?

The third and smallest of the temples – the Temple of al-Maharraqa is noted for the spiral staircase that ran up to the roof for special ceremonies. It is clearly only a Roman Temple – which makes it much younger, dating from somewhere between 30 BC and 14 AD. Still – that’s 2000 years!

We walk back down to the ‘landing’ place, reboard the skiff – and head back to our ship.

As a treat – they offer us a visit to the helm – and I’m surprised to find the controls very basic. There’s a depth meter, Radar, a compass, the switches for the lights in all parts of the ship – and two joy sticks for controlling the rudders. Ed comments that avoiding complexity makes a lot of sense when you don’t have easy access to mechanics and I’m going to agree with him. Keep it simple – and keep in running.

Apparently there are only 2 ships currently running in Lake Nasser our of an original 5 that we saw parked at the dock in Aswan. Luckily – we were on the newer of the two – and glad to be there!

After our tour of the helm, Hassien entertains us with a very interesting talk on the history of Egypt – going all the way to the present – and highlighting that in 5000 years – they have only had 7 months of a truly elected government. Strong Dictators – from Kings to Military Generals is the norm – and it works for the population.

Then lunch (yum), a brief break while I nap, then tea on the Pool deck and an Egyptian Dinner Party. I will observe that this is my favorite meal – They definitely can do Egyptian!

After our boat docks in Aswan – we have a party in the 5th floor lounge – drums and a singer with 4 dancers.

Then its bedtime. Tomorrow is another long day. We are checking out of one ship and into another on the Northern side of the Aswan High Dam. It’s not a long trip – but we have temples to see before we can pack, move luggage, and change ships!

Signing off to go to bed.

The Soup Lady.

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