After docking overnight in Aswan, the boat set sails at 5am in the morning heading to Kom Umbu Temple. Wake up call is at 7.30am and after breakfast, we head out to our first land tour at 8.30am.
Kom Ombu Temple and the crocodile museum is just by the river bank so we head out on foot. The general architecture of the temple is very similar to the Philea Temple with it’s giant carved stone on its entrance and a courtyard followed by the sacred sacrificial area. Umbu means gold so the area is famous for it’s gold mine.
This is the temple dedicated to two gods equally. The good (Horus -falcon) and evil ( Sobek-crocodile) god.
One thing to note in this site is the ancient calendar carved on its wall. The ancient Egyptian calendar is divided into 3 seasons, each seasons 4 months and each month 30 days.
Also, take a closer look at the carvings (very 3D looking) showing the clothes of the ancient Egyptian king and queen. The older kingdom were shoeless and the lady wore very thin layer of clothing showing the shape of the breast but in the newer kingdom, the king wore sandal and the lady wore thicker clothes, covering their body.
We then head back to our ship have a swim in the pool and shower while cruising to the next destination- Edfu Temple. Lunch is served on their sundeck with spectacular view.
Next stop is Edfu Temple (Horus Temple) and we reach in style via horse carriages. In this temple, there is a room which has the ingredients used to make natural essences carved on its wall. Egypt is famous for treatment of rheumatic arthritis using aromatherapeutic oil.
It also has the story of the battle of the nephew (god Horus) and his evil uncle depicted as rhinoceros.
Our land tour tour has ended and we went back to ship only to realise it is time for afternoon tea again. Love the view onboard the ship on sundeck, enjoying afternoon tea with the cool breeze blowing. After the sun has set, we went back to our cabin to freshen up before heading to our dinner served Egyptian Style.
At night there were some entertainment and we joined for a bit before heading to bed.
