Edfu Temple
A Temple Magnificently Preserved
Visit one of Egypt’s most complete ancient temples, buried and preserved under desert sands for 2,000 years.
From your ship, you will board a horse-drawn calèche for an exciting ride through the village streets. Upon arrival at the Temple of Horus at Edfu, built between 237 and 57 BC, you will gather at the entrance with your guide to marvel at the pair of black granite statues of Horus, the falcon god to whom the temple is dedicated. Proceed into the colonnaded courtyard past hieroglyphics and rows of lotus columns into two halls, whose side chambers stored offerings to the gods. As you explore, you will see the stairway leading to the roof. During an annual New Year’s festival, priests carried a statue of Horus to the roof so it could be revitalized by the year’s first sun. In the sanctuary, you can admire a replica of Horus’s sacred boat.
A Temple Magnificently Preserved
Visit one of Egypt’s most complete ancient temples, buried and preserved under desert sands for 2,000 years.
From your ship, you will board a horse-drawn calèche for an exciting ride through the village streets. Upon arrival at the Temple of Horus at Edfu, built between 237 and 57 BC, you will gather at the entrance with your guide to marvel at the pair of black granite statues of Horus, the falcon god to whom the temple is dedicated. Proceed into the colonnaded courtyard past hieroglyphics and rows of lotus columns into two halls, whose side chambers stored offerings to the gods. As you explore, you will see the stairway leading to the roof. During an annual New Year’s festival, priests carried a statue of Horus to the roof so it could be revitalized by the year’s first sun. In the sanctuary, you can admire a replica of Horus’s sacred boat.
The morning excursion was a trip to the Temple of Edfu via horse carriage. They loaded each couple in a separate carriage for a ride through the city.
The Temple of Edfu is dedicated to the god Horus, the falcon-headed god of the sky and kingship. It was built during the Ptolemaic period, between 237 and 57 BC. Due to the fact that it was buried in sand, it is one of the best-preserved temples in Egypt.
On the way back to the boat, there was a little bit of a kerfuffle. They put us in the wrong carriage for the return trip. The right driver passed us as we were leaving the temple. We stopped and transferred back into the right carriage.
There was a sail away cocktail on the sundeck when we are back from the excursion. Just before lunch, we went to a lecture on our Jordan post-cruise tour.
We spent the afternoon sailing down the river to Luxor. We attended a short lecture on the sundeck as we sailed through the Esna Lock; it is a double lock that can accommodate two boats at a time. It is the only lock on the Nile River between Luxor and Aswan.
The Esna Lock was built in the early 20th century to improve navigation on the Nile River. The lock allows boats to pass through the Esna Barrage, which is a dam that controls the flow of the Nile River.
A group of us played lairs dice on the sundeck and watched the river go by. I enjoyed the afternoon a great deal.
Getting cleaned up for dinner, the Gainsleys and Heringers hosted everyone for a cocktail hour in our suites. Everyone brought a bottle of wine.
I didn't catalog what we had for dinner. I believe that it was lamb. There has been a lot of discussion about the quality of the food on the boat, particularly compared to other Viking cruises.
Sharon and I crashed about 10 pm.
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