Dipping my toe back in the Nile

[RooFlyer]

A row of baboons across the top









The guys down below are getting the rough end of the pineapple:

 

[RooFlyer]

The second, smaller temple is dedicated to Ramses II's chief wife Queen Nefertari.



Again, the kids getting under their feet



Most of the flowers being offered are lotuses






Ramses smiting the enemy



Last look back. It was a whirlwind trip

 

[RooFlyer]

We then scooted back to the airport for another 45 mins ride back to ASW (again, EgyptAir A220 and also 30 mins late), and the drive back to the cruiser, arriving 1:00pm for the scheduled 2:00pm departure.








The new Philae temple from the Aswan Low Dam



When I got back, the crew had made this out of towels on my bed.



They had done it to all the others as well. Pretty cute, eh? Until I heard that in some of our cabins, they had fetched some clothing out of people's suitcases to 'clothe' the things. What were they thinking! When would that ever be OK?

At 2pm, a number of the cruisers hauled out. Some dainty manoeuvring in the shallow water





We were a bit late and were behind a string of others, but the captain let 'er rip and we nosed in front ...

 

[RooFlyer]

He he, he ... streeted 'em!





Time for a bit more exploration of the boat. The lounge areas were very nice, and the top deck invited drinks in the warm (high '20s) sun.







A bridge under construction



It was very, very nice cruising on the Nile, watching the towns and fields drift by, with G&T in hand.

But we weren't done yet. We reached Kom Ombo where there was a temple to inspect. Again, sone dainty pirouetting and manoeuvring of various boats to accommodate various departure times. Not all the craft are doing the same things...





Sunset as we waited for disembarkation

 

[RooFlyer]

That sunset again



I don't think anyone on the tour rated this stop, Kom Ombo temple as a success. We disembarked at sunset, pretty much as scheduled, but the place was absolutely packed, and also hoards of touts etc. Other guides were shouting to make themselves heard (to everyone!)











The temple was apprently big on crocodiles, and there is a small museum of mummified crocodiles on site







A crocdile still in its egg



We boarded back in the dark and set off again for our dock at Edfu, about 3 hours down river.

Dinner was a buffet on each night; no pics but not bad. Drinks for purchase; occasionally I bought a bottle of 'Omar Khyam' white at the bar upstairs and ordered a glass down.

 

[Bindibuys]

This is what they did to our Missy.
Guess we were very lucky when we did our Nile cruise, very few tourists at every port.
Loving the memories.

 

[RooFlyer]

Guess we were very lucky when we did our Nile cruise, very few tourists at every port.

Our guide told us that tourism had come back to Egypt this year much more strongly than was expected. Most cruises reporting 'full'.

Next morning, we were cruising on the river again in fine conditions. Very relaxing. One thing I wasn't expecting was a lock - but there are twin locks at Esna, roughly half way to Luxor. There is an old dam to bypass, and about a km before the locks.

Approaching the old dam, with some enterprising sellers.











Rower Vs cruise boat in a narrow space ...



Just made it.



So, you grab a seat at the front of the deck to view the lock activities ... and then ...




Approaching the twin locks with the LH one occupied. Drop is about 7 metres.

 

[RooFlyer]

Navigating the lock behind another cruiser. It all happened seamlessly, although if you were one of the later cruisers, there would be a wait.





At the back





We then continued serenely downstream. I think I spotted a mosquito, so was obliged to have a medicinal G&T at about 11am.







Dates, mangos and bananas seemed to be the main crops along the river.

 

[RooFlyer]

BBQ lunch on the sun deck







About 2pm the outer parts of Luxor came into view

 

[RooFlyer]

Luxor is the base city to visit the Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens (on the opposite, western shore) and hosts Karnak and Luxor temples. Basically, the western shore (where the sun sets) was seen as the preserve of the dead, while the east was for the living.

As soon as we docked, we were off in the minibus to visit Karnak temple. From Wilkipedia

The Karnak Temple Complex comprises a vast mix of decayed temples, pylons, chapels, and other buildings near Luxor, Egypt. Construction at the complex began during the reign of Senusret I (reigned 1971–1926 BCE) in the Middle Kingdom (around 2000–1700 BCE) and continued into the Ptolemaic Kingdom (305–30 BCE), although most of the extant buildings date from the New Kingdom. It is part of the monumental city of Thebes, and in 1979 it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List along with the rest of the city.

The complex was added to progresively through the centuries and the last segment was incomplete when the Persians (I think!!) invaded, hence the pylon on the left is shorter than on the right. It is entered via a short avenue of sphinxes with ram's heads.








The twin of this obelisk is at the Place de la Concorde, in Paris.



The place was pretty crowded, but as usual, the crowds mainly confined themselves to the main areas, the central 'walk'; get away from this and there is plenty to see in relative peace.

 

[RooFlyer]

Although the temple was generally interesting, the highlight for me was the preservation of the colours. During covid, there had been a bit of general cleaning (not restoration) and if you looked up and behind things, the colours were wonderful.

 

[Major]

Karnak was my pick of our Tour. So much to see and you could wander almost anywhere. Loved it

 

[RooFlyer]

We exited at 5:30, on closing









Next day, we visited the Valley of the Kings. About half the group elected to do a balloon ride, which meant a 4:30am departure from the boat .

The rest of us left at about 6am (with the balloons well in the air) and we met them at the Colossi of Memnon , effectively the start of the Valley precinct.







Only a bit different here from 1994



Excavations over the past 10 years behind the Colossi has revealed an avenue of temples, not much solid but lots of remnants

 

[RooFlyer]

At the Valley of the Kings the standard ticket gets you entry to three tombs and you can pay extra for others. We also had Tutankhamun's tomb included, in replacement for not visiting the temple at Edfu the previous day (it needed a cart ride to access and Intrepid refused to use them).

There is a good road for coaches etc to the ticket office area; you then take an (included) 12 seater golf buggy to the drop-off point, the start of the tombs. Ticket office area.



There is a great 3D model representation of the tombs



After golf buggy drop-off, the mandatory walk through the 'bazaar'



The guide recommended the tombs of Ramses 3, 4 and 9 and to buy Seti 1, one of, if not the best of the tombs he said. That's what I did. Seti was EGP200 I think (A$12), one of the most expensive tickets on the tour! I was amazed how cheap the admissions to Egypt monuments were. They could triple most of the prices and it wouldn't touch the sides for tourists.

The beginning of the walk; the tombs go off left and right up the valley. We got there about 7:30 before most of the crowd, but they really started arriving from 8.



Much the same view in 1994. The 'bazaar' was here, then.

 

[JohnM]

At the Valley of the Kings the standard ticket gets you entry to three tombs and you can pay extra for others. We also had Tutankhamun's tomb included, in replacement for not visiting the temple at Edfu the previous day (it needed a cart ride to access and Intrepid refused to use them).

There is a good road for coaches etc to the ticket office area; you then take an (included) 12 seater golf buggy to the drop-off point, the start of the tombs. Ticket office area.

View attachment 308728

There is a great 3D model representation of the tombs

View attachment 308729

After golf buggy drop-off, the mandatory walk through the 'bazaar'

View attachment 308727

The guide recommended the tombs of Ramses 3, 4 and 9 and to buy Seti 1, one of, if not the best of the tombs he said. That's what I did. Seti was EGP200 I think (A$12), one of the most expensive tickets on the tour! I was amazed how cheap the admissions to Egypt monuments were. They could triple most of the prices and it wouldn't touch the sides for tourists.

The beginning of the walk; the tombs go off left and right up the valley. We got there about 7:30 before most of the crowd, but they really started arriving from 8.

View attachment 308732

Much the same view in 1994. The 'bazaar' was here, then.

View attachment 308730

Do you have your own photo scanner?

I'm thinking about going through my old negatives/prints but don't want to spend a bomb on either a scanner or a scanning service. There seem to be some inexpensive scanners, but they get very mixed reviews.

 

[Cossie]

Do you have your own photo scanner?

I'm thinking about going through my old negatives/prints but don't want to spend a bomb on either a scanner or a scanning service. There seem to be some inexpensive scanners, but they get very mixed reviews.

I’m very happy with the Epson FastFoto FF-680W I bought. Don’t think I paid anything like the current rrp, though, it was a few years ago.

Load up the photos and go, it will even scan the back if there is any writing.

 

[JohnM]

I’m very happy with the Epson FastFoto FF-680W I bought. Don’t think I paid anything like the current rrp, though, it was a few years ago.

Load up the photos and go, it will even scan the back if there is any writing.

That seems to scan only prints. Any comment on whether it's better to scan prints, or the negatives which some scanners appear to do?

 

[Cossie]

Ah yes, sorry, only does prints, I have a separate scanner for slides, I haven't scanned negatives for quite a while. I'd be tempted to take them to a shop. I know @FlyboyAl on here used to do this, I haven't noticed him online for a long time though.

 

[RooFlyer]

Ah yes, sorry, only does prints, I have a separate scanner for slides, I haven't scanned negatives for quite a while. I'd be tempted to take them to a shop. I know @FlyboyAl on here used to do this, I haven't noticed him online for a long time though.

Yes, I sent a bunch of 'selected' 35mm slides to FlyboyAl to scan about 6 years ago. At that time I couldn't find a satisfactory DIY solution.

 

[RooFlyer]

Wikipedia: Ramses III was the second Pharaoh of the Twentieth Dynasty in Ancient Egypt. He is thought to have reigned from 26 March 1186 to 15 April 1155 BC and is considered to be the last great monarch of the New Kingdom to wield any substantial authority over Egypt. His long reign saw the decline of Egyptian political and economic power, linked to a series of invasions and internal economic problems that also plagued pharaohs before him.











Rameses IV was the third pharaoh of the Twentieth Dynasty of the New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt. He was the second son of Ramesses III and crown prince when his elder brother Amenherkhepshef died aged 15[4] in 1164 BC, when Ramesses was only 12 years old.