We went up, then returned via some ruins, but they did not want us to go through them because they didn't look safe. By this time it was getting close to the 1.5 hours, so we started around to look at a third tomb, refusing the guides attendance to open it, we just looked into it before heading to the admission gate for the felucca.
Our felucca driver was waiting for us at the admission area with a number of other people. When we arrived he started to the felucca and we left to return to the east side of the Nile. Upon leaving the felucca tout then asked us to give them a tip, baksheesh. We gave him an extra pound and returned towards the hotel. On the way back we passed by a Nubian craft market. We went inside and looked around. There were mostly clothes. I though bought a nice Nubian decorated dress for Yukari for 29 LE. This was all I had at that point, I had the rest of my money in my separate money belt. I found that it worked well if I had a small amount of money in a wallet and the large amount in the money belt. This way I could limit how much money that the stores could see in my wallet and it was more difficult for them to overcharge for us. It was also a good way of limiting purchases as it is very easy to overbuy something that was not very useful.
We then went back to the hotel for a shower. It was noon ant it was getting very hot. We then finished packing our bag for the felucca cruise and brought it downstairs. We had still left a few things on the bus which was still locked from the previous night. We left them as we thought we would not need them for the Nubian dinner but would pick them up after the dinner, as it turned out the bus driver, after dropping us off for the dinner, drove to the hotel, locked the bus and disappeared until the following afternoon when the bus was next needed.
We still had over an hour left before the felucca cruise, when we went to the hotel lobby to wait. The Abu Simbel people were later then thought. Elizabeth and I went back to the market. I figured I could buy some spices. We bought some of the 'half-burr'. We bought an 8 LE package worth. I also bought some hibiscus tea leaves. I got a fairly large package for 5 LE. I also bought some Spanish saffron which is suppose to be good here. We then bought some ice cream, and took it back to our hotel. There we met some of the group waiting. I told Sameh where we went this morning. He said don't say anything to the group because they would ask why we didn't go to the tombs of the nobles as well.
We were told we still had almost an hour before leaving. Ever since we arrived in Aswan, all events were being constantly delayed. It was almost like Aswan time runs slower than the rest of Egypt. Allison in the group asked me if I would accompany her to the market where she bought a custom made shirt. She would get less hassle that way if a male came with her.
We finally left at 2pm without the group from Abu Simbel. They would meet us at the feluccas. We went on the bus and we collected our belongings that we left the previous day. We arrived at the feluccas and divided in our sub-groups. I don't know why we were divided the way we were. Elizabeth and I were put on with 6 of the women whom we didn't know as well and the boy Mark. The women by this time were good friends with each other so we ended on the outside. Mark ended up visiting another of the felucca's when we docked together but I stayed with Elizabeth. I got a lot of time to do some reading and work on another sunburn. By this time my back sunburn from the snorkling had almost completely peeled off.
By the time the Abu Simbel group came back lunch was ready. We had bread, soup, bananas pasta and tea. There was still a bit of a delay after lunch. The paperwork had to be ready before we could go. Every Egyptian on a felucca with a foreigner must be licensed. Finally everything was ready and our three feluccas were sailing. Sameh asked everyone to put their watches away over the next 3 days so that we can relax. This meant that my times would be estimates. Because it was a hot day, 38c in the shade, 50c in the sun and 24c in the water, the Egyptians put a cloth over the deck to provide shade.
We sailed for several hours. I sat near 'Ramadan', the tiller of the boat 'Queen Lenda'. I learnt on the first day quite a bit on how to sail a boat, steering and trimming the sails. Mid-day they put out a rope and some of the girls climbed on the rope for a swim. We stopped at about 8pm, close to sundown on a beach. The sunset was magnificent, and a lot of us took the picture of it. Some farmers were close by and as the sun went down they went down in prayers. I and several others went for a swim in the Nile, Sameh said it was safe here.
We also played backgammon. At least we learnt to play under several different rules. We had supper of rice, vegetable soup, chicken and bread. Mark went over to the other boat to visit Jade and Chara. I was a bit bored though. As it was hot I tried to sleep first with a sheet, and then in a few hours later changed to my sleeping bag.
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Tuesday, May 19
Kom Ombo towards Edfu
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We woke up close to sunrise. I turned around looking for my bag. I couldn't find it on the deck. I panicked, remembering Sameh's warning the previous night about people sailing up to feluccas in the night taking peoples belongings from the decks. One of the deckhands said to check with Ramadan. He said look under the deck. There it was. While we were sleeping Ramadan had gathered the bags and put them below deck.
We sailed for about an hour and landed on the dock going to Kom Ombo, where the temple to Horus and Hathor was. We were also going to a camel market. The previous day Sameh asked if we wanted to visit a camel market and see how they judge and sell camels. We all agreed, it costing 10 LE for the taxi and entrance. When we arrived only one of the taxi was present. Sameh asked the taxi driver to bring another one. On the way to the camel market, the two taxi's met the second one that was suppose to pick us up. He was upset, but as Sameh said it was his problem that he was late and it would teach him a lesson. There are so few rides that any taxi driver is glad to get some business.
The camel market in Kom Ombo in Tuesday had several hundred camels of all conditions. We met a camel grader who spoke OK english though with a heavy accent. He told us how to grade a camel into meat, work and racing. The prices of the camels ranged from 1000 LE for a meat camel, 2000 to 4000 LE for a work camel and up to 30,000 LE for a racing camel. Almost all of the camels in the market were male camels. They also had one of their front legs tied up so they could not walk easily. After the tour, we stopped by a Sudanese camel trader. He goes to the Sudan and buys camels there for about 500 LE, then walks them to the market and sells them. Our camel grader said he was rich and had many camels. As a joke he asked the Sudan trader which one of the girls does he like best. He picked Allison, our bubbly blonde. He offered 2 camels, this was a down-to-earth offer compared to us use to the shopkeepers offering 1000's of camels for one of the girls. The camel grader then gave Allison an addressed envelope in case she wanted to write to him. That guy must have done this many times before!
The taxi vans then drove us to Kom Ombo temple. We toured the temple, the preserved crocodile and then walked a short distance to where the felucca's were waiting for us. The wind was very heavy and water was very choppy. The felucca crew were worried about the felucca's might turn over, so they stopped just outside of Kom Ombo on a beach to wait until the wind calms down.
A total of 5 boats docked at the beach, our three, a group of Australians and a small boat with a single woman from Paris on board. We could go swimming there however there was no sand so we had to dive and climb up onto the boat. Some of the native kids started hanging around us. I gave one of them a pen and someone gave them some paper and they started drawing pictures. Sameh arranged for us to visit the nearby homes for tea to see what they are like. He charged us 1 LE each to pay the people. We saw the barnyard, so many flies, the house had several rooms and even a fridge with a Canadian flag sticker on it. The stove used to cooking bread was a large brick oven. The family also had a black and white TV.
I was worried about my papyrus which were just rolled up in a bag on the deck. Lying against them wrinkled them. I decided to cut 3 water bottles to tape into a tube so I could fit the rolls inside so they will not get damaged. Later in the day we joined Sameh in a round of drinking whiskey straight, with each of us taking turns taking a swig until the bottle was empty. Sameh also asked one of the girls if he could have a sip of her beer. When she said yes, his sip turned out to be a guzzle of two-thirds of the bottle until it emptied. After supper, the wind slowed down so we started traveling. Most of us fell asleep while the boat was traveling. I woke up sometime in the middle of the night to stars above my head and the bank of the Nile flowing by, before falling back asleep.
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Wednesday, May 20
Down the Nile to Edfu
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We got up close to sunrise today. Again I didn't see my pack on the deck, but found it below. We were docked on a beach. After breakfast we left to continue the boat cruise down the Nile. The wind was more mild today.
One of the boats we were traveling with was called Queen Linda. Our boat was called Queen Lenda, it was the same name in Arabic, Egyptians do not worry about the english spellings, for that matter they do not worry about a lot that westerners do. Ramadan, our tiller started to play chicken with the other boat, trying to cross its path as we sailed back and forth across the Nile. The other's tiller chickened out. We asked Ramadan if he knew them, he said that that was his cousin.
We stopped on a beach for lunch, then continued to the outskirts of Edfu by the evening. While supper was being made we gathered scrap wood for a fire. The other two boats joined us and there appeared some Nubian drummers. We sang and danced in front of the campfire until we ran out of fuel. We then retired for the night.
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Thursday, May 21
Edfu to Luxor
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When we woke up this morning we we drifting towards the Edfu dock. Ramadan did not open up the sail, rather he controlled the rudder to direct us to the dock. All the felucca's docked and we got our belongings and got on the bus. Allison saw that Sameh gave the felucca crew what she thought was a small tip, so she arranged for all of us to contribute extra to give to them. When she gave the tip to them, she said they were very overwhelmed. The extra was about 200 LE for the 5 crew.
We also loaded a lot of water from the feluccas, it was recommended that we buy 2 per day, and most people didn't use the water. I also gave some hibiscus tea as a gift to Ramadan.
We then took the bus to the Edfu temple of Horus. This temple was built in 230bc by the Greeks to show that they respected the Egyptian religion. |
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