SATURDAY, JULY 31: KOM OMBO TEMPLE

• Breakfast onboard
• Visit Kom Ombo Temple (slide show)
• Lunch onboard
• Sail to Edfu
• Visit Edfu Temple (slide show)
• Dinner onboard
• Overnight in Luxor

Today’s adventure is a look at a site from the Greco-Roman era in Egypt, when the Ptolemies ruled, right before the country was absorbed into the Roman Empire.

The Temple of Kom Ombo is memorable as a symmetrical “double temple” housing the worship of two gods, Horus the Elder (Haoeris) and Sobek, the crocodile god. Kom Ombo has a striking relief of the pharaoh in a reed boat. The wall relief that raises the most discussion is one that appears to depict surgical instruments.

Early afternoon we’ll visit the temple of Horus at Edfu. It’s one of the best preserved monuments in Egypt and a highly significant part of an annual pilgrimage and festival celebrating the sacred marriage of the gods Hathor and Horus. Scenes of the New Year Festival and distinctive reliefs in its chapels are the temple’s drawing cards.

Early this evening our Egyptologist will prep us for our visit to the Valley of the Queens where we’ll see an evocative tomb and evidence of the use of astronomy in ancient Egypt.

KNEE/HIP/MOBILITY ALERT: Regrettably there are no accommodations for people with mobility issues at Kom Ombo. The site we visit is reached via a long steep flight of stone steps without a handrail or bannister. You need to think of the status of your joints, your sense of balance, and your mobility skills as you contemplate today’s exploration.