20091217 – Aswan to Kom Ombo

We left the river boat at 7:30 and caught a motor boat to go up the river to the St Simeon Monastery. When we got to shore, we were met by a herd of camels, one per person. After mounting our steeds, we rode up the hill to the monastery. It was an easy 15 minute ride very similar to riding a horse.

The monastery is in disrepair. It was built in the 6th century. It is a large, fortress-like structure surrounded by desert sands and is supposedly one of the best preserved Christian sites in Egypt. Amid the crumbling structures, we saw the monks’ living quarters, their mill, their bread oven within the defensive walls.

After our visit, we got back onto our camels for a 30-minute ride across the desert to a Nubian village. We dismounted and said good-bye to our rides and their handlers. Then we walked to a Nubian house where our host served us tea and answered questions about life in the village. He also gave us a tour of his house which was situated around a large courtyard.

Leaving the Nubian house, we walked through the village past primitive houses, two schools and, of course, the village market.

Our motor boat took us back to our river boat where we set sail down the Nile. Lunch was served in the dining room. We watched the shores of the Nile go past us while we ate.

Our first major stop on the Nile was Kom Ombo. We visited the Greco-Roman temple which is dramatically set on the river bank on a bend in the river. This is Egypt’s only double temple with one side dedicated to the crocodile god, Sobek, and the other side to the falcon god, Haroeris. The temple was built on top of an ancient Egyptian temple. Some of the original colors on the walls are remarkably preserved. We were amazed that we could walk in, around and on top of the ruins. It appears that there are so many ancient monuments in Egypt that they cannot be roped off so that people will not destroy them. These structure would be a sensation at home.

Tonight’s dinner had an Egyptian theme. We were supposed to wear traditional Egyptian dress called Galabeya. Some did, some didn’t. The food was good and the after-dinner games were fun.