Sunday – February 10, 2019
Last night The Mojito docked on the west bank of the Nile River near the city of Eduf, Egypt and this morning we awoke to a brilliant, crisp, clear sunny day.
We climbed up the stairs to the riverside corniche. There was a clamor of carriage drivers yelling for attention to be chosen to drive our group to the Temple of Horus. Two passengers for each weathered horse-drawn carriage; we were assigned to #468.
Our driver, Ahmed, smiled and helped us into the carriage and we were off in a caravan of American tourists clomping down the main streets of Edfu!
Edfu is an Egyptian city with a population of about 60,000 people. It was fun riding through the village in the carriage although it was so early that many of the shops were closed.
A bakery:
Spice shop:
We arrived at the Temple of Horus and Ahmed parked his horse & carriage next to the others.
The Temple of Horus which was built between 237BC and 57BC, is the second largest temple in Egypt and one of the best preserved ancient monuments. Preservation was possible because sand had covered the site and, over many centuries, houses had been built on top of the temple.
The huge pylons that stand at the entrance to the temple were decorated with battle scenes of King Ptolemy VIII during the Greco-Roman period in Egyptian history.
The temple was dedicated to the falcon god Horus. Ancient Egyptians believed the temple was built on the site of the mythical battle between Horus and Seth.
Ahmed was waiting for us after we finished exploring the Temple. We climbed into the carriage and enjoyed another fun ride through Edfu.
Edfu was now bustling with people, cars, wagons, and tiny three-wheeled jitneys. It was market day. Shops were open and vendors were everywhere.
Afterwards we enjoyed lunch onboard The Mojito, while the crew let go its lines from the dock and brought them aboard. We cast off and the riverboat followed the channel markers in the Nile and we continued cruising southward.
We sat out on the top deck, chatted with our fellow travelers, and watched the beautiful Nile riverbank pass us by.
There was an amazing assortment of commercial and tourist boats on the river:
Some time in the afternoon, one of the chefs appeared on the top deck and gave us a cooking demonstration of how to make babaganoush – a delicious Middle-Eastern dish made from eggplants:
The head chef demonstrated how to carve a large gourd for display:
Time passed quickly and we arrived at the village of Kom Ombo, thirty miles north of Aswan.
Here’s a photo of The Mojito docking in front of two other river boats:
This was an unscheduled stop to let a small group of travelers ashore. We planned to return to visit the Temple of Kom Ombo in a few days on our way back up the Nile. The Mojito at its dock:
We had an hour to go ashore to explore on our own. A bridal couple posed for photographs in front of the temple:
Local kids gathered around the couple and a loud percussion band played music as family members gathered at a restaurant below the temple. It was a lively scene!
We explored the market which had been set up along the riverside. We both bought galabiyas – the traditional Egyptian garment native to the Nile Valley – for our upcoming “Galabiya Party” on the boat.
We experienced another amazing day cruising down the Nile River. Tomorrow we’ll be in Aswan.