Cruising the Nile - Karnak Temple

Monday Feb. 24

We had to wake up dark and early today. After a quick breakfast - and thanks to the hotel staff for opening the breakfast restaurant early to accommodate our departure time - we were off to the Cairo airport and our 1 hour flight to Luxor. 

The staterooms on board the ship would not be ready when we landed, so we visited the Temple of Karnak nearby. This is a fantastic, massive temple complex built here by Ramses II, one of the great pharaohs of Egypt. 



The weather was perfect. Lots of people were there, but with a little patience, some interesting photo ops emerged.

After a couple hours at the temple, we drove the short distance to the River Tosca, our floating home for the next week as we cruise the Nile River and visit historic sites along the way.



In Karnak, about 60% of what is now standing has been restored and reconstructed. At places, big cranes are installed to move stones that had fallen or newly cut stones where needed. 

The size of the structures is awesome. Of course, we all know the Egyptians built great buildings and monuments, but to actually see how massive these towering pillars, obelisks, and pylons are is staggering.




After a good visit to the Luxor temple complex, we drove to the river ship, boarded, and unpacked. Lunch was served and we spent some time on the upper sun deck watching the scenes of local life pass by on the shores of the Nile River. We stayed out for a while and had our afternoon tea al fresco.





The ship is older and beautifully maintained. We have a larger stateroom than we have ever had on a ship with a big floor to ceiling window that opens wide so that our room becomes a de facto balcony. The Nile is not very wide, so we could watch farmers working their fields, grazing donkeys, Buffalo, and goats, and kids waving at us. It turns out that our captain is from one of the small towns we sailed by today. No wonder so many kids were out to wave at him. 

Tomorrow, we have two excursions - early morning and mid afternoon.

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