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.