The Mighty Nile River

There is a saying in Egypt that if you drink from the Nile River, you will return.  Egypt is a very special place that I have always been drawn to return to, so maybe there is a little truth in it.  

The Nile river has sustained life for Egyptians since ancient times, over 7,000 years ago.  Today, the majority of people in Egypt, an estimate 95%, still live along the Nile River Valley. 

One of the best ways to see the Nile River Valley is to take a 4 night cruise down the Nile from Luxor to Aswan. The further you go South on the Nile, away from the pollution of Cairo, the more beautiful it is.  You can see farms along the way and small villages too.  Many ancient sites were built along the Nile, so the cruise will stop along the way so you can visit various temples and tombs. I was lucky enough to be able to experience this last week and below I'm going to share with you some of the wonderful things that I saw along the way.

This is a felucca boat.  If you look closely, you can see a man that is climbing to the top to fix the sail.

Relaxing on a felucca boat along the Nile. 

This is our Egyptologist guide George. He had to help the captain steer the ship while he was doing something up front.

It was a hot day; about 106 degrees.  There were boys and men swimming along the Nile here, right outside of a Mc Donald's.

The beautiful Nile River Valley

Outside the Temple of Karnak. They are working on a project now that will be a walking path, of over 1,000 statues they discovered underground, between the Karnak and Luxor temples to once again unite them both together like they were in ancient times.  The path will be almost two miles long between the two temples. This is an 11 million dollar project that started in 2004, and they are still working on it. There were homes in between, but the government had to help relocate those people so that they could excavate and work on this project.

 Luxor has had a few names since ancient times, but the one most recognized is Thebes.  The name changed to Luxor when the Arabs took over the area and it means 'the palaces.' The most impressive sights at the Karnak Temple are the massive pillars/columns inside and the obelisks.

The Luxor Temple

Me standing under a statue of Ramses II, also known as Ramses the Great. He ruled for over 67 years and is believed to be the Pharaoh referenced in the Exodus story from the Bible.  This statue is made out of solid granite stone.

Queen Hatsheput's Temple is also in Luxor.  She was the first female Pharaoh  and the only one after was the famous Cleopatra VII. You can find her mummy in the Cairo Museum; they just discovered it in  2007.  Here is a link  all about it http://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/jun/27/egypt.science

Look at the color that still remains inside Queen Hatsheput's Temple after about 3,500 years.

Just on the back side of Queen Hatsheput's temple is the Valley of the Kings and not far from there is the Valley of the Queens.  In the Old Dynasty they built pyramids to house the Pharaohs, but it was too obvious for grave robbers to find. So, they started to build tombs underground in a secret location so that the mummies and their treasures would be safe for eternity. Unfortunately, the people who helped dig and build the tombs ended up being the grave robbers. So far, the only untouched tomb found in the Valley of the Kings was Tutankhamen's which was discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter.  That is the reason he is so famous, not because he was one of the greatest Pharaohs to rule Egypt.

This photo was taken inside one of the Tombs in the Valley of the Queens. Look at all of the color still there after well over 3,000 years!

We passed by this old fashioned boat and it is where the setting for Agatha Christie's book Death on the Nile took place. The boat is called the 'Sudan' and it is one of the only steamboats left running on the Nile.

Sunrise

Sunrise

The deck of the boat was the perfect place to have a cup of tea, enjoy the view and  write in the travel journal.

Temple at Dendara; dedicated to the goddess Hathor. Hathor was the goddess of love and beauty; she is the Greek equivalent to Aphrodite.



The ceilings of tombs have the most color remaining since they do not get as much sunlight.

You will see many fishermen along the Nile River. Most of them use nets like the men seen in this picture.

A village and farm along the Nile River.

The Temple of Edfu.  This temple was dedicated to the ancient Egyptian god Horus.

Horus is one of the major gods in the ancient Egyptian Religion.  He is seen as either a falcoln, like the statue above, or as a man with a falcon's head.  Here is some more information on the story of Horus  http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/horus.htm

Inside the temple, there are many cut out windows in the ceiling to let light in.

These fisherman along the Nile are using poles to catch their dinner.

Another pair of fisherman using a net.

Arriving a the Temple of Kom Ombo.  

This temple has two halves, one for good and the other for evil.  The good side is the story of the ancient Egytian god Horus and the evil side is the story of his uncle Set. In the myth, Set kills Osiris, Horus' father, for power.  Later, Horus seeks revenge and good overcomes evil. 

The Temple of Kom Ombo as the sun is starting to set.

It was an Egyptian themed galabaya party on the boat one evening. We are pictured here with another family that was there from NYC.

This is an Egyptian Whirling Dervish.  Their history is from the religion of Sufism.  Here is a video link of one so that you can see one in action :

Here is a link that explains more about Sufism  http://www.patheos.com/Library/Sufism.html

There was an Egyptian Belly dancer on the boat too and she had the most amazing live band music.  Today you mostly just see belly dancers for tourists at hotels and on boats like this one.  You may also see them perform at an Egyptian wedding.  Also, some people take classes because it is  an excellent form of exercise. 

The crew from the boat showed us some traditional Egyptian dancing.

To travel to the Philae Temple, you need to take a boat to get there.

This was the captain of our motor boat; he was around 10 years old and did a great job!  

The Philae Temple is dedicated to the goddess Isis.  She is one of the main ancient Egyptian goddesses and you see her on the walls of many tombs and temples.  Here is a link with more information on Isis  http://www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk/isis.html

Philae Temple is located on an island in the middle of the Nile River.

Temple guard in the blue galabaya and cane.  Many people in Egypt wear a galabaya and it makes a lot of sense because it helps keep you cool, and more comfortable, in hot weather. 

Market in Aswan, Egypt.  We were there looking to buy spices and in my opinion,  the best roasted peanuts in the world!  The peanuts  get roasted by placing them in the sand and letting the sun do all the work. They are crunchy and delicious. I ended up purchasing four bags to bring home to America.

Spice shop in Aswan, Egypt which is also located along the Nile River.  It is in the South, and is only a few hours north of the country of Sudan.  Many people who live here are called Nubians and originate from this part of Egypt that was called Nubia in ancient times.

Picking out spices to take home. We ended up getting cardamom, cumin, peppercorns, nutmeg, hibiscus and anise. 

A beautiful ibis bird along the Nile River.  The ancient Egyptian god Thoth was an ibis and he was the scribe in the underworld who would record the results during the 'weighing of the heart ceremony.'  Here are more details in the belief of this ceremony  http://www.egyptian-scarabs.co.uk/weighing_of_the_heart.htm

Sunset along the Nile River. 
 I hope these pictures have inspired you to come travel along the Nile River someday. Who knows, if you drink from it, maybe you will also return one day too!