Up North, down the Nile

Leaving Aswan, we head north, downstream, on our cruise to Luxor. Its no mystery why the Nile flows "upside down". It doesn't is simply a matter of gravity, as the headwaters from Lake Victoria and snowmelt of Mt. Kilimanjaro flows downhill to the Mediterannean Sea.

This gives everyone a chance to take a deep breath, relax, and ponder the incredible sites seen so far on the journey. The weather is wonderful, although a bit breezy, as you're heading into the breeze as you move north- thus doubling the windspeed and "windchill factor". However, the sun warms things pleasantly. As Egypt slowly streams past you, the ever-changing views of the countryside are marvelous.

In addition, people have a chance to roam the boat, visit the bridge and learn about how to navigate on the river.

Our first stop is Kom Ombo. Right along the eastern bank of the Nile, it is a unique temple of the Ptolemaic Era.

The Ptolemies were the descendants of Alexander the Great's Greek general, Ptolemy, who would then create his own kingdom after Alex's death. There would be 13 Ptolemies, and several Cleopatras- including Elizabeth Taylor! She would also be known as Cleopatra VII.

This temple, dated to the 3rd Century BCE., would be designed as a dual temple- with worship of the Nile crocodile god, Sobek, and the falcon protector of the pharoah, Horus, taking place side by side.

In essence, the central axis splits the temple down the middle, with courts, hypostyle halls, holy of holies.... all duplicated.

Sometimes we arrive during the day, and at other times in early evening. However, since 2004, the Supreme Council of Antiquities has created a lighting system that makes this visit even more stunning just after sunset!

We'll walk through it next.

The Glory of Ramses II

One of the most famous of all Ancient Egyptian Royalty was Ramses II. Here is a pharoah who lived nearly a century, ruled for 67 years, and sired over 100 sons and countless daughters! (sorry ladies, but they just didn't count in those sexist days!). Here was a pharoah that, when you looked up "Pharoah of the Oppression and Exodus" in Wikipedia, his picture would appear. And no, not Yul Brynner's!

The longevity of his rule, the massive building programs that characterized the New Kingdom, all lend weight and credence to his fitting of the bill for the period of Israelite enslavement followed by freedom and redemption as outlined in the biblical book of Exodus. Ramses would rule from around 1292-1225 BCE. He ruled longer than 75% of his constituents even lived!

And although the period of enslavement would last several centuries, his rule could easily epitomize the plight of Ancient Israel in Egypt that started with the Joseph narratives of Genesis.

He would build marvelous structures, palaces, store-cities, up and down the length of the Nile Valley. One of his most famous monuments would be that of Abu Simbel- his mortuary temple built only 25 km from the Wadi Halfa and the border with modern Sudan. Actually, we are talking about a twin temple complex, with a lesser, though no less magnificent, temple dedicated to his queen, Nefertari.

Its been known for a couple of centuries, with travellers like David Roberts visiting in the first part of the 19th Century. The Saharan sands had filtered the gap in the Red Nubian Sandstone ridge that separated the the twin temples. And remember, these temples were also subject to the annual Nile floods. As Roberts explored this monument, he would marvel at the size and scope of this building project... much in the same way that we do today!

But with the temples threatened by the rising waters of the Nile, and the creation of Lake Nasser, they, along with 15 other Nubian temples, might disappear from the face of the earth.

As a result, UNESCO would mount an incredible campaign that was destined to save Abu Simbel and 2 other major Ptolemaic temples (about 1000 years younger) than ABS- Philae, that we've seen, and Kalabsha.

Many plans were submitted, including one by the French that would "dome" these temples under 250' of water; with tourists viewing them from glass-bottomed boats. Thank the UN for the veto of this incredibly "shallow" idea!

The end result? The monuments would be dismantled and transported 250' above the floodwaters and reconstructed in an artificial mountain. This unbelievable feat would take several years, but be the most sensitive and proper way to preserve these fabulous structures.

Its been one of the few times that UNESCO has done something right, in my opinion. It then served as the model for the other rescue missions along the Nile Valley.

Today, the glory of Ramses II is fully evident once again. His statues, over 55' tall, gaze serenely over Lake Nasser- impervious to the lake's waters, at times reaching their maximum depth of 250'. The care taken to meticulously restore the temple is in evidence, with the cut seams invisible to the eye.

The interior passages, treasuries and shrines are all beautifully lit as well, giving a sense of majesty and wonder.

However, this is one "fatal flaw". Fatal, that is, to an archaeologist. The original angle of the temple's construction was to allow the sun to shine directly into the holy of holies twice a year: the king's coronation day and birthday. These were 23 Feb and 23 Oct.

Today, in spite of all our calculating and care, the reconstruction is 1 DAY OFF!!!!! ( the engineers jokingly said that the earth changed on its axis!)

A short flight back to Aswan, and we sail north.