The next leg of our adventure led us onto a Nile cruise ship, which would take us down the river to Luxor. With a few stops on the way, one of our first off-ship excursions was a night trip to the temple of Kom Ombo. After bumping aground during the approach, our cruise ship rafted together with another secured to the landing dock. The girls bundled up against the cold desert night, and we set off through other cruise ship’s reception area to get to land. This sequence recurred many times as we cruised towards Luxor
The Kom Ombo temple was beautifully lit up, and it’s unusual nature was readily visible. This temple is of the Ptolemaic period, and not only is it dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek, but it is also dedicated to Haroeris! Though the temple was far from the intact state of Philae, we were still able to see many beautiful wall carvings. A favorite of ours was the one Tom so affectionately dubbed “The Ketchup and Mustard Shower”. Actually, it depicted the gods Toth and Horus pouring oils of the pharaoh in blessing. Also, we got to see a nilometer. Nilometers measured the inundation of the Nile during pharaonic times. Measuring the rise and fall of the Nile, priests calculated how much a farmer owed in taxes. Unlike the picture below, it is doubtful that there was trash floating in a nilometer during those times. The nilometer helped inspire the presentation of Elizabeth’s independent study project.
To get to and from the temple we had to walk through a mini-market bazaar designed for the catching of tourists. On our way back to the cruise boat, we were coerced into taking pictures with and of a snake charmer and his snakes. How can one travel to the Middle East and not be entranced by a snake charmer?
