The cruise we took had a nice balance of down time on the boat and site seeing on land. The boat moved lazily up the river, and we spent a fair amount of time each day under the sun canopy on the upper deck watching the banks roll by.
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| Camels grazing |
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| Kids swimming in the Nile |
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A boat similar to this one lashed on to our boat at hitched a ride for awhile.Kom Ombo
Our only stop on day 2 of the cruise was the Temple of Kom Ombo. This temple is unique in that it is a double temple for two different gods: Sobek-Re (the crocodile god) on the right side and Horus the Elder (the falcon god) on the left side. This temple is located on a prominent bend in the Nile, which was a favorite spot for the Nile crocodiles to hang out prior to the construction of the Aswan High Dam.
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Sobek-Re is associated with Seth, the enemy of Horus. In the myth of Horus and Osiris, Seth and his followers changed themselves into crocodiles to escape. The ancient Egyptians believed that by honoring the crocodile as a god, they would be safe from attacks. On the grounds of the temple is an area where the ancient Egyptians would keep a captured crocodile in a type of open tank. They made offerings to this crocodile in the attempt to appease it and protect themselves.
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| One of the notable features of this temple was the fact that the paintings on the ceiling still retained so much of their original color. |
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| Mummified crocodile. One of those captured to make offerings to. |
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