Egypt 2 Papyrus, Luxor Temple, My Garden Stitcheries
On the boat we had towel sculptures daily.
Minaret towers usually holding the speakers for the call to prayer.
Traditional Felucca boat on the Nile.
The top deck of our boat. We really appreciated the pool in 50c temperatures.
Let me tell you about papyrus. It is a reed which had the outer stripped off. These strips can be woven for baskets like we would use willow.
The inner is then cut into slices which are soaked in water. They feel slimey. You then layer them across and up and down on a felt mat.
Cover with another felt mat and press the water from it. When dried it forms a woven parchment surface which is then painted on like the pictures in the background.
Now to Luxor Temple.
Pharoah Ramasses II huge head.
Wearing the double crown of upper and lower Egypt. I think these would’ve been painted originally.
Closed papyrus columns.
The real secret of this temple is that it is a temple of 3 religions. See that door way up there? That is the original door to the Mosque. No one knew of the pharonic remains below as the Nile had deposited layer upon layer of silt soil over the site during the annual floods.
You want to know what the 3rd religion was don’t you? Well it was Christianity. Miraculously some of the Roman wall painting still survives in situ! This scene resembled The Last Supper. It is a shame that they removed a lot of the hieroglyphs on the site.
A very Roman niche and columns with the remains of painted plaster.
Here’s a quick panorama of the open courtyard area. The layout is like Karnak only smaller and less complex.
Pharoah and his wife.
But look a Roman statue too!
In the remains of a Roman temple. Suych things don’t survive well in England so I was very excited by this temple.
The first pylon from the outside with an obilisk in front.
But look behind you a pharoah headed sphinx.
Yes this is the other side of the Sphinx Avenue leading to Karnak Temple.
But it is time to leave Luxor now and head upstream.
Under bridges,
Past gloriously decorated boats.
It almost feels like you are going back in time too: to a glimpse of Pharonic Egypt and the sights the pharoah would’ve seen as he sailed up the Nile.
The cruise liners dock along side one another so you walk through another boat to get to shore. Unfortunately you keep your curtains drawn in your cabin then because all you can see is straight into someone else’s cabin. See the little boats? They are traders who manage to throw their goods up to the top decks where the tourists haggle a price, having latched on to the big boats when they slow down or have to moor and wait. This is good at Esna Lock as there is only a short time for this to happen so you get some good deals.
The pool at night.
Many of the boat horns were tuneful. I wondered if certain tunes meant certain things to the other captains?
Jacuzzi with a colourful minaret tower.
Now on to the final 5 My Garden Stitcheries.
I hope to assemble this today.
A little thank you to Ulla, Grethe and Kigwit for being my 3 ladies for my PIF.
Something will be with you before the end of the year.
Kom Ombo Temple, Unfinished Obalisk, and Aswan Dam next time.
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