Up up and away

Got up at 4am to fly in a hot air balloon over the Valley of the Nobles and
Workers and the Ramesseum. We also saw a monastery.

Amazing view and very quiet.


When you leave at 4 AM it is still dark and the sun slowly comes up as you leave the ground.
Initially the only light is the glow of the fires that heat the baloon, and the only sounds is the rush of gas to the burners.
It is something you really have to do, and this is the place to do it!!

Over the ramesarium - the homage to Julius Schmidt



Return to earth

In the afternoon, we drove through the desert to our hotel on the West
Bank. The Al Moudira is like an Arab compound. (See photos below).


Lots of atmosphere here.



Again we have been upgraded to a beautiful room with twin four poster beds.

They have gauze curtains. We have a huge room with a bath and another big room with a sink and

toilet. Both rooms have domes with white stars on a blue background. We

also have a back door with a little garden. Very nice and very hot.



Just where you would expect to meet Elizabeth Peters character having a G&T.

These are the star domes in the rooms that glow at night.

The pool is salt water and colder than the one at the Winter Palace.
It is so hot, the cooler water is refreshing.

5 star, and all to themselves

Mike, you would love this hotel. The staff is really helpful and the food is excellent.
We have been drinking great Egyptian wine that goes for about $16 in the restaurant.
Both the red and white are good.

Editors note.
Yes Les we get the point.
It is fabulous, and you are so incredibly lucky.
We are freezing at home, no doubt you and Joc will have a drinky winky for us too.
It is all that keeps us going.



I can hear a donkey nearby sending Sophy his regards.
The stars are brilliant, especially Orion's belt.
Love. Les

Tomorrow we will visit these tombs and Howard Carter's house. 
No need for a guide as I know the Nobles tombs well.

Editors Note
Such modesty.

Oh my God.

The breakfast at the Winter Palace was incredible. So much variety and so delicious. The yogurt was better than in Greece. The coffee and the juice, yum. I am lucky Sophy isn't here -- I got to eat two mandarin oranges all by myself.
Then we went to the amazing Luxor Museum. What a treasure box. I get such satisfaction from being able to read the hieroglyphs.
After we took a horse-drawn carriage to the souk, where Jocelyn bought Egyptian cotton that is being made into two shirts.
 
 

Andi has been giving us haggling lessons. I am improving my skills and bought a brass planter for $33 rather than $100. You would be proud of me.

Editor's Side Note to wife

1. It is important to support the local economy, especially now.
2. But. Please try not to buy S* we don't need, no matter what.
3. If in doubt please see item 2 above, and try harder.
4. Thank you for your attention  to this matter.

But yes, I am so happy/relieved it did not cost you $100.
MC

Editors explanation in case you had wondered

S* = Schmaltzy Souvenirs  / So Cute Stuff   etc.

That said, we were the only tourists in the souk. I am concerned for the people.
I love the school children in their uniforms and always stop and talk with them. One little fellow was missing his two front teeth. He was charming. I would like to volunteer here in January and February as an English coach when I retire.

It is very hot. Going to the pool.
I really miss you and think you would be having a great time if you were here.
Love, Les

The two Queens arrive at the palace

When we left for the Valley of the Kings at 7:30, it was already warm. We saw the tombs of Ramses the third, fifth, and seven. The tombs were quite different. Beautiful colors. We then went to Hatsheput's temple. It was over 35 degrees.




It was over 35 degrees


We were quite happy to go back to Luxor for lunch in the shade by the Winter Palace's pool and then for a dip in the pool.

The area around the Winter Palace is being rebuilt. The 80s part of the hotel is gone. Along with it went my favorite bookstore, antiquities store, and minimart.
The Winter Palace is beautiful. We have a lovely room with a balcony looking out over the Nile onto the Valley of the Kings

.

I found the drivers of the horse-drawn carriages and taxis more aggressive. It could be because we don't have my Egyptology friends or a man with us when we walk about. Tomorrow we will walk with Jocelyn's friends to the Luxor Museum. This small museum holds some fabulous treasures.

Miss you. Love, Les

On the Nile, the royal barge drifts liesurely

The day started at 7 with yoga on the top deck and watching the boat go through the lock at Esna. Fascinating machinery.

Then swimming in the pool and seeing more gorgeous scenery.

Editors comments......... waves lap gently.....

Pure white egrets stand stock still in the reeds. On the bank a dusty and tired grey donkey chomps intently in the shade of a date palm, its owner sleeping lazily beside. Below, two fishermen in a tiny rowing boat gently draw in their nets. Then a pied kingfisher races by inches above the rippling, khaki water, and all is still again. Northward the boat drifts, Lesliepatra secure and content.

I love how the vegetation gives way to the desert mountains. 

I am sure a tomb up there is waiting for me to find it. Next year.

We went to Karnak and Luxor temples in the afternoon. Our guide, Ahmid, is excellent. He knows his hieroglyphs. I have learned about temple architecture and the Pharaohs. Thutmose's III is the first Napoleon and Ramses II wasn't as great a ruler. He just made many children and lived a long time. (Happily no doubt.)

We are having dinner with our three other boat travellers for this last night together.

The three travelers go to dinner

 

Tomorrow after going to the Valley of the Kings (7:30am departure) we move to the Winter Palace -- one of my favourite hotels.

I will try to email some pictures then.

I saw the blog briefly and like the photos and editor's comments.

Miss you.

Love. Les

Lesliepatra endulges at the spa

Subject: Edfu


Saw Edfu today which is one of the most complete temples. Amazing and have
Horus and Anubis pictures for Sophy.

Joc has been putting photos on our
Ipads so we can clean out the memory each day.
Had a facial and back and shoulder massage both for $50. The lady found my
shoulder knot in seconds. My face looks great. Good because we have a party
tonight.
Tomorrow we go to Luxor and Karnak.
Miss you. Love. Les

Editors notes.

This is what I am picturing.
Great skin good posture.
Nice stuff.

Lesliepatra alights the barge

Subject: Cruising

We are now on the Alexander. Only three other guests on the boat (plus us makes 5). We just had a six course meal. Tomorrow I am going trim down to three courses. The food is very good.
I am hoping to lose weight too.  I am getting lots of exercise walking. Tomorrow we will do some yoga, sail to Kom Ombo and visit the site, sail to and visit Edfu (Horus temple), tour the engine room, go to cooking glass, and go to a galabeya party.


I am laying on a deck chair watching the Egyptian country side go by. The weather is warm and sunny
I have seen temple ruins, farms, water buffalo grazing.

I think you would really enjoy this trip.

This morning the boat moored at Edfu where we walked to the amazing temple
dedicated to Sobek and Horus.

I got some great pictures for Sophy. This was also the centre of medicine. I took a picture of some of the medical instruments for Jeff.

It is almost time for our barbeque lunch.

After we dock at Esne and take a horse-drawn carriage to the site.

Joc has become a Boggle fan.

Miss you. Love. Les

Notes for the strident student of Egyptology

This is sobek at Kom Ombo who was god of fertility and creator of the world. (The guy sitting on the left)

The temple at EDFU was called both "House of the Crocodile" and "Castle of the Falcon". An imaginary line divides the temple longitudinally into two parts, each with its entrance, hypostyle halls, chapels, etc. The right part of the temple was consecrated to Sobek, the left to Haroeris (Horus), whose winged disk that protects from all evils is depicted over all the entrance portals.

Horus of course is the son of Osiris and Isis. He was conceived magically after the death of Osiris, and Isis hid him away on an island to protect him from Set. In this form he is worshipped as an infant and is beseeched to gain his mother's protection for the worshipper. Here at EDFU he was God of the noontime sun and was first worshipped in the western Delta and spread south, a cult center being established at Edfu. He is represented by a winged sun or as a lion with the head of a hawk. Horus Behudety fights constantly against Set and an army of darkness to ensure that the sun rises each day.

Abu Simbel was magnificent.

Abu Simbel was magnificent. The colours of the hieroglyphs and the pictures on the walls are the best I have seen. Jocelyn was very impressed. My flashlight worked very well. There were a number of older people from England that I explained the hieroglyphs to with my flashlight. I got requests from two knowledgeable ladies whose batteries had just died.

When we got back to Aswan, a guide and car met us with a delicious box lunch and more bottles of water. Joc and I got a private tour of the Aswan dam, the granite quarry that the Pharaohs used, and the temples on Phylae. They were Greco-Roman and very beautiful. Very different from the ones I study.
The boat has only five passengers. We are watching the Indiana Jones movie that takes place in Cairo.  Harrison Ford is very young.
The boat is very nice. I am going to wait until Joc gets back from picking up her lost suitcase to have dinner. I have checked out the pool, dining room, bar, and gym. Lots of deck chairs.
I looked for Sobek for Sophy but didn't see him or his friends when we were on the side of the Aswan dam where all the crocodiles live. The guide said if you do a cruise of Lake Nasser, you can sometimes see them swimming if you look through the lower deck windows. That would be fun.
Miss you. Love. Les

Notes for the eager follower

Sobek was a Nile God

• It was believed to be a Man with the head of a crocodile and a headdress of feathers and a sun-disk

Sobek in crocodile formSobek was connected with the Nile, and protected the king. Live crocodiles were kept in pools at temples built to honour Sobek. In Canada you would need to keep them inside perhaps in the bath if you did not have an indoor pool. More about Sobek later as we visit EDFU.

Sophy is the Nile DOG

Evening in the garden and the sun must set

Subject: Evening

It was after 2am when we arrived in our hotel. Very tired.
We were upgraded to a small house with living room, giant bathroom, eating
area, and a porch looking onto the Nile.

Today we walked with Joc's friends into the town to go to the Nubian
Museum, which was amazing. We also went to a lovely Coptic Cathedral. Not
many tourists.
Love. Les
We can see the sunset from our balcony. A short but beautiful sunset.
We went to Johaanne and Andi's for a glass or two of reisling and some
snacks. Their room is in the hotel and has a loft-like area for the bed. We
then went back to our house and ordered lentil soup and some Middle Eastern
starters, along with a crisp bottle of white Egyptian wine. They also
showed us their pictures of Abu Simba. I am really looking forward to
seeing it. The people at the entrance look minuscule.
We take the boat across the Nile for a 7:30 am pick up tomorrow and then a
flight into Nubia.
Miss you. Hope you are all well. Anubis sends his love to Sophy and
Mydas.
It is very quiet here. They found Joc's suitcase in Cairo and she should
have it tomorrow.
Love. Les

Ariving at the garden

Subject: Sitting on the porch watching the Nile flow by


Mike, I am drinking herrrible tea from Toronto and nibbling Oatmeal cookies
from the Heathrow lounge. I am sitting in a comfy chair with my feet up.
Wish you were here.
Jocelyn has just gone to sleep for an hour before we join Johanne and Andi
for happy hour. They are very nice. Andi is German and is efficiently
dealing with all the tipping and falucha people.
The Nubian Museum is like the Luxor one but much, much bigger. Lots of
great stuff -- even a statue of Khafre which means "Appearing like Re" who built the second Giza  pyramid.
Also models of Nubian village houses. At the museum gift shop, I bought
Sophie a 6 inch Sobek with a wide open mouth showing its teeth. She texted
in her request --  and said she won't show it to Mydas because the
crocodile would scare him.
Tomorrow we are doing a side trip to Abu Simbel way down in Nubia. This
is the temple with the huge Ramses statues saved from the dam waters. We
are flying and the trip is $225 -- about half of what I have seen it
advertised for in Canada. It should be amazing. Joc's friends went there
last year and loved it.
Joc didn't get her big suitcase when we arrived. I have lent her stuff. It
is a good thing I brought all those Paul Frank pants. (no kidding)
The weather is gorgeous but a little to cool for the pool.
 Miss you. Love. Les

Study notes for the intrested follower

Khafre was son of King Khufu, and he succeeded his half-brother, Redjedef. He married his sister but had 2 or 3 other queens as well.

Besides his pyramid complex at Giza, most Egyptologists believe he also built the Great Sphinx and that it is his face that adorns this huge statue, which sits just beside his valley temple. Leslie loves the sphynx

http://egyptphoto.ncf.ca/Sphynx.htm

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Simbel_temples

En route to the Garden of Eden temptations lurk

Subject: Bracelet

Who can say no to Hermes?

Only 510 cdn so will get it. A little different with lovely bright colours.
Love. Les

I am wearing it with an orange outfit.


Editors note

It is pretty.
I hope you wear it forever.

When you think it is OK

Subject: In London

They fibbed after the announced flight delay...
Our flight sat on the runway for another 2 hours so we missed our Cairo
flight. We are re booked on a 2pm flight. This is much better because we
get to spend time (and $) at Heathrow and not Cairo. I have had a shower. Business
class was great.
Love. Les

Everything that is worthwhile has a cost of some kind > Getting there step one

Subject: Air Canada Flight Notification - AC0856/March 23, 2011 - Change

Please take note of the changes to your flight below.
Flight Number: AC0856
Revised:
Departing Toronto Pearson on March 23, 2011 @ 20:30
Departure Terminal T1, Gate 179
Arriving in London March 24, 2011 @ 07:59
Scheduled:
Departing Toronto Pearson on March 23, 2011 @ 19:15
Departure Terminal T1, Gate 179
Arriving in London March 24, 2011 @ 06:25
We apologize for the inconvenience and hope you enjoy your flight.