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Night Location: Edfu, Egypt (on board Nile Cruiser)
Mummysode of the Day: Mum was highly offended at a pointed comment about her large feet. While walking through a local market, some men declared: "45? 46? Long feet, long life!" Mum maintains that this comment was perhaps more pointed at her mighty Merrells than her actual feet.
The only excursion off the boat before we sailed away from Luxor was to the massive Temple complex of Karnak. Last night our guide told us to expect the temple of Karnak to be much more imposing than the temple of Luxor. He did not exaggerate. Highlights of the visit include the Great Hypostyle Hall compete with 134 towering papyrus shaped stone pillars, symbolising a papyrus swamp.
Pausing under one of the great painted columns that supported some of the remaining roof our guide explained the importance of the number 42 to the ancient Egyptians. This was the number of gods and goddesses and in this temple it was a requirement that the pharaoh had to run around the temple carrying a heavy stone statue 42 times as well as swim around the sacred lake inside the temple 42 times.
Queen Hatshepsut commissioned the three largest obelisks in the world, one of which towers above the temple. The sacred lake is filled daily from underground channels connecting to the Nile. You can still see the original stone steps leading down to the water. A fishermen was catching small fish from the lake and feeding these to two cats.
Last stop in the temple was the statue of the giant scarab beetle. This is an emblem that we have seen all over Egypt. The scarab beetle was worshipped by the ancient Egyptians as it was believed that it pushed the sun god Ra across the sky as it is usually found holding a round object between its front legs. Turns out this object is its cocoon which it just happens to bury for 42 days! We all walked around the giant scarab three times for good luck.
Before returning to the boat, we made our first and possibly last venture into the Souq markets. After half an hour of negotiations we bought six scarves. Gemma and David had their first Turkish coffee of the trip to recover. Exuberant but exhausted by our efforts we returned to our Nile Cruiser.
The remainder of the day was spent relaxing on the top deck. In order to get over the sixth cataract we had to pass through a lock. We entered a narrow channel that was then filled with water so that it matched the level of the other side. Local men tried to sell their cotton goods while we were waiting to pass through. They are so determined!
Tomorrow we wake up in Edfu to see the Temple of Horus.
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