Monday
We were scheduled for a tour this morning in Edfu of the Temple of Horus, but I had gut rumblings during the night, and knowing the heat index, opted out of the tour and left John to take lots of photos. He said it was one of the best so far since it is almost entirely intact. His pictures were amazing. It is still hard to comprehend how these buildings were constructed thousands of years ago, the enormity of them and how it could be done without tools. It would be a feat even today with the tools we have. After the group returned and we had lunch, we had some time to look over traditional Egyptian dress and think about how we would “dress” for our final dinner tonight. Everyone is supposed to “come Egyptian” style, and then there is supposed to be a party following. Should be interesting. We have really enjoyed our small English speaking tour group, led by Abdallah, who is from Luxor. Since I missed the tour this morning, he recommended the “local cure” for the Cairo crud…..swallowing the tea leaves from an ordinary Lipton tea bag, chased by lots of water to get them down! No chewing, just swallowing. Guaranteed to work with no side effects. Couldn’t seem to hurt, so I managed to choke them down. I have to say that I have had no more symptoms since. Not sure if it “mind over matter,” as Abdallah shared tonight at the Kom Ombo temple as he discussed the ancient Egyptian’s expertise in medicine, but I won’t argue with the results.
Our room attendant, Hassem, has been entertaining us with his “towel creations.” Yesterday it was two giant swans made out of our comforters, complete with my hat for a personal touch. Another small swam surrounded by flowers completed the “scene.” Today, he surprised us with a crocodile stretched across our beds, with jaws propped open by the TV remote control and eyes made with shampoo bottles. I walked in just as he was completing his creation, so he added my sunglasses to the croc for a funnier touch. Of course, he’s hoping for a good tip, but it’s entertaining and fun to watch the waiters create things with the napkins at the tables. Our waiter created an amazing “balancing act” with two forks intertwined with a toothpick stuck in the tines, balanced on the tip of another toothpick stuck in the salt shaker. It stayed balanced for quite a while. Neat trick.
As the sun began to sink and the heat somewhat subsided, we walked down to the ruins of Kom Ombo Temple. It’s another huge group of pillars, famous for its hieroglyphics, especially those depicting medical techniques and tools. There is also a section on child birth, showing the birthing stool and breast feeding of the child.
All the while we have been here, we have been anxious to get news from home, since Hurricane Ike hit Houston this past weekend after we boarded the boat. We haven’t had any news channels, only able to text to family, since there has been no power in the city since it hit. We heard today that we will not likely have power for another week or two; horrible to think about and hard to imagine. Though everyone seems to be ok according to text messages, it is terribly hot, no power, food and water in short supply. Thankful that everyone is safe, but know that they are so many are suffering.
Pictures of the day:
http://picasaweb.google.com/johnacrews1/NileRiverMondayMorning#
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