Happy news. Many pictures, fewer words.
Ah, finally, dear reader, a civilised beginning to today. We weren't required to disembark until 8:30am. Luxury. Of course, had it been earlier in the year, we would not have needed the buses at all. The town of Dendera is situated on the Nile, but lower river levels (3m) due to a decrease in the amount of irrigation water required us to be bused to Dendera. Sadly that meant two hours on a bus there and back again and we only had 90 minutes at the temple site.
The Dendera Temple is dedicated to the goddess of love, music, joy, fertility and motherhood. After reading that list, I would suggest she is the mother of multi-tasking as well. The temple was constructed in 116BC during the reign of Ptolemy XII, putting it in the Roman period, which our guide consistently distinguishes from Egyptian. Apart from anything else, this Ptolemy is famous for being the father of Cleopatra VII, the one famous for the Julius Caesar/Marc Antony relationships. Or in the more common world, Cleo is Elizabeth Taylor.
The inside of the temple has been maintained/restored and is beautiful and colourful with ceiling frescoes, dominated by columns. Another truly remarkable piece of architecture. It was also the first where there was evidence of the influence of the Sumerian culture, although our guide would not like me to mention it. Mud bricks formed the basis of much of the complex.
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| The pillars are stunning. |
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| Ceiling relief. |
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| Osiris being 'repaired' by a bird. |
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Another ceiling relief.
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| The vultures on the ceiling. |
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| The only surviving depiction of Cleopatra and her son Caesarion. |
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| Mud bricks. |
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| A distant view of the Temple. |
Despite the long bus ride, it was worth it to view the temple and the afternoon was spent cruising the Nile to our next destination. It was a pleasant contrast to the 37°C we experienced wandering around the temple site earlier in the day.
Thursday
We arrived at Esna overnight. The morning brought another 7:30am departure. The air was reminiscent of Cairo except the dust was replaced by smoke. We had speculated earlier, on seeing all the sugar cane, whether they burnt the cane prior to harvest. Although illegal, our day was shrouded by smoke from the burning of the tops of the cane.
The 20 minute walk to Esna Temple or the Temple of Khnum, the ram-headed god of creation, was actually around 5 minutes. It was little more than 150 metres from the ship. However, the street, if it can be so-called, was more of an alley-way of 'vendors' flogging the usual souvenirs.
Deep below the modern street level, the temple is only half excavated and the mosque that looms in the background has precluded any further exploration in that direction.
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| The rear of the temple and the mosque. |
The building once used for storage, contains 24 towering sandstone columns and a recently restored ceiling. The soot from fires has been carefully removed, using a relatively new technique that doesn't damage the original paint.
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| Looking up at the ceiling. |
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| A ceiling relief. |
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| More graffiti. |
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| Ceiling vultures. |
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| Colourful columns. |
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| The front of the temple. |
The reliefs inside are once again from the Roman period and depict Roman Emperors dressed as Pharaohs.
One of the more unusual sights was a woman sweeping an exterior ledge of the temple and collecting the fallen feathers of the pigeons that inhabit the tops of the columns. To one side of the temple, a group of German archeologists was working to take plaster copies of the reliefs. We have been told that all current and future excavations are being funded by other countries and UNESCO because Egypt has no more money to invest in these endeavours.
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| Team Germany preserving the past. |
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| The sweeper. |
After returning to the ship, it was time to set sail for our next port so we went up to the sundeck to chat to fellow passengers and watch/photograph the landscape as we floated up the Nile towards its Southern source. Happily, it was easier to see (and breathe) as we sailed away from the smoky environs of Esna. It is very clear how vital the river is to Egypt. The green ribbon along its banks is where Egypt lives and beyond is simply desert. Or the largest quarry in the world. Our guide regularly talks about water being a matter of national security and any threat to the Nile is viewed as an existential threat to the country.
After lunch, it was time to disembark at our new location, Edfu to take a short bus ride to visit the temple dedicated to Horus, son of the goddess Isis and god Osiris. This temple is next in line to be cleaned and restored so much of the vibrant colour of other temples is still hidden under layers of silt and soot.
Apparently the soot is from the Christian monks who allegedly moved into the temples to avoid capture and persecution during the Roman rule prior to Emperor Constantine converting. They alone are responsible for the desecration of the reliefs as they attempted to remove the false gods. The soot is from their fires. We were told on many occasions, "it was the monks, it was always the monks". Dedicated they were to the evil practice of removing the Egyptian gods. Post 313AD of course.
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| Impressive, even from a distance. |
Upon arrival, it was till very warm as we walked from security through the temple precinct. A large pack of resident dogs moved past us before we approached the outer walls, depicting the battle of good (Horus) against evil (his uncle Seth). Inside were large halls and again the massive columns. One side room has become home to a colony of micro bats whose presence could be detected by smell before sight.
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| Dog tired after a big day. |
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| Batman and robin. |
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| The holy of holies. |
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| "Stop right there". Meatloaf in Egypt? |
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| More columns. |
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| Horus. |
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| Hmmm. Sumer again. |
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| Horus wearing his crown. |
Our path to the exit was once again through the vendors' alley who, we had been warned, were pretty aggressive sellers. We were equally dogged in our responses of "La Shukran" - no thank you, which clearly annoyed one vendor who then offered us a t-shirt for $5million. That generated a couple of laughs as we ran the gauntlet through the alleyway. It is actually a pity that the vendors are so in your face because we might be tempted to actually stop and have a look at some of their wares if we were not going to be harangued to buy something. And pestered. They are like flies, you wave them away but they keep returning.
Once we made it back onto the bus, we headed back to the ship to get ready for tonight's dinner, an Egyptian buffet on the sundeck, an event to which we were all invited to wear the traditional Egyptian dress, the galabeya. I didn't. Surprised, dear reader? Neither did Jayne. The night was to a be celebration of culture and food for those who were robust enough to party on, given tomorrow was going to be another very early start.
The food was quite delicious but the evening's enjoyment was hampered by a lack of organisation to detail. A buffet where tables were not called one by one, deteriorates into an endless queue at Coles cafeteria. Then there was the layout of food. Salads at the first station but with a small plate only. Therefore if you opted for salad when you moved to the hot food to collect the larger plate you had both hands full and no way to put your main course on the plate.
Anyway, we were exhausted and it was time for bed, the Egyptian dance party was not for us. After all, we had another long day tomorrow with another 4:00am breakfast call. That's even earlier than the endless call to prayer that permeates all parts of the day.
The Meatloaf reference was to good to pass up and today's title song is
Paradise by the Dashboard Light, all the way from 1977. If you weren't born then have a listen to a power ballad from the decade that defined them.
إلى اللقاء في المرة القادمة
