EGYPT #3: Edfu and the Aswan Dam

The ladies on a felucca with the Redlands Daily Facts

This was our second day on the Nile--I can’t think of a more relaxing way to travel. If you have never been on a river cruise in Europe, China, Egypt, South America or Asia, put it on your list of “things to do.” It’s relaxing, entertaining and educational. In many countries, including Egypt, the river is the sustaining source of life--it provides food, water for washing, drinking and bathing, transportation and business. People all over the world find enterprising ways to make a living.

We had visited the Temple at Luxor and the Temple Complex at Karnak and were planning a visit to the Temple of Horus in Edfu that morning, but were waiting for a group of adventurous souls to come back from their hot air balloon ride over the Valley of the Kings.The pictures, courtesy of Marjorie Handel, tell it all. According to Marjorie, the pilots were wonderful and flew low over the Valley of the Kings, pointing out tombs and monuments, many places we had been the previous day.
Also, skimming over small towns got lots of smiles and waves from the villagers. At one point we got so low we could actually see them cooking breakfast over an open fire. It was great.

Once the group returned to the ship we were off to Edfu, a town located on the West Bank of the Nile between Aswan and Luxor.The Temple itself is dedicated to Horus, the falcon headed god, and was built during the reigns of six Ptolemies.We have a great deal of information about its construction from reliefs on outer areas. It was begun in 237 B.C.E. by Ptolemy III Euergetes I and was finished in 57 B.C.E. Most of the work continued throughout this period with a brief interlude of 20 years while there was unrest during the period of Ptolemy IV and Ptolemy V Epiphanes.Edfu Temple is not only one of the best preserved ancient temples in Egypt, but is the second largest after Karnak. It was believed that the temple was built on the site of the great battle between Horus and Seth. According to the ancient myth, the falcon god Horus fought a fierce battle with his uncle Seth who had cruelly murdered Horus’s father Osiris. Like politics today, there was always a lot of drama in the early days of the Egyptian dynasties. The current temple is the last in a long series of temples built on this location.

In my last few articles I talked very little about shopping, an important part of any Bill and Marjorie trip. Everywhere you stop there are vendors. At the major temple complexes you can’t leave the site without passing dozens of vendors in strip-like malls, but not quite that modern.
The biggest difference, comparing the vendors to those in China, Vietnam, Jamaica, Cuba and India, is that the Egyptians understand the word “no.” They don’t give you a hassle. Bargaining is part of their culture so be prepared to spend time if you plan to buy something.

One of the more memorable parts of the cruise was the vendors on the boats that came out to greet the ship. Talk about entrepreneurial.We were on the top neck and they would throw their merchandise, wrapped in plastic, up to the deck --- tablecloths, shawls, galabiyyas, blankets, etc. If you wanted what came flying up, you would start the bargaining process. Once you agreed on a price, you wrap your money in the plastic bag and throw it down.If you didn’t want the goods, you throw the goods back down. Most of the time they landed in the boats. It really gets chaotic when you can’t remember who threw what and things are flying every which way. This “shopping spree” went on for 20 minutes and would have lasted longer but we were heading into a lock.

Jim Felber found the perfect galabiyya.

The following morning we disembarked for our visit to Aswan and the world famous High Dam, an engineering miracle when it was built in the 1960’s.The dam provides irrigation and electricity for the whole of Egypt. Together with the original Aswan Dam, built by the British between 1898 and 1902, it has regulated the flow of the Nile and increased agricultural production throughout Egypt.Here I am at the Aswan Dam with friends, Marjorie and Judith.

Unwillingly, we went back to the ship to get ready to leave the following morning. Once back on the ship several members of the group took advantage of the free-time to start packing for our trip back to Cairo. It was a beautiful afternoon, too pretty of a day to be inside and just perfect for a sail aboard one of Egypt’s famous Feluccas (sail boat). What fun. I can see why so many Californians get hooked on sailing.Join me next week for our visit to Abu Simbel and our trip back to Cairo.