| At noon we started our cruise up the Nile River. Today our sail took us from Luxor to Edfu via the Esna Lock. As we approached the lock, the vendors came out in their boats. From fifty feet down they conducted their business. It was definitely entertaining. If someone was interested in looking at or buying, the vendor would throw his merchandise fifty feet up in the air to the top deck. If a price was agreed on between buyer and seller, the money was then returned in the bag. If not, the merchandise was returned. Amazingly, nothing ever went into the water. We docked for the night in Edfu and enjoyed a special candlelight dinner onboard our cruise boat. |
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| Sunday morning we visited Edfu Temple, the best preserved temple in Egypt, dedicated to the falcon-headed god Horus, the god of protection. It was built during the Ptolemaic Period, and so was 1000 years younger than either Karnak or Luxor Temple. It had been started by Ptolemy III in 237 BC and completed by Ptolemy XII in 57 BC. Due to its preservation, it gave us an excellent picture of the major components comprising all Egyptian temples -- the pylon, the open court, the hypostyle hall, and the inner sanctuaries -- even making more meaningful that which we had seen earlier at Karnak and Luxor Temples. |
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