The Widow and the Spinster: The Search for Adventure, Enlightenment, and the Quest for Forbidden food - Bacon, Bacon, Bacon, and New TR Link! 5/23

[franandaj]

For some reason, this made me think of first Timbuktu and then Kathmandu.

I can see that....

Word has gotten out!

I was starting to wonder.

Yeah... given everything you've said... I'd be a tad leery as well.

And especially once I tried the shrimp, I'm glad that I was leery.

I wondered... since it won't hurt you, I wonder if they just don't do it in that part of the world?

Ewwww.....remind me not to each shrimp when I go back unless I could see that it had been cleaned.

I totally agree. All it does is add a green colour splash to a plate. That's it.

It actually looks pretty good.

Once I learned to tell the guy to add two scoops of sauce and tomatoes, it came out a lot better.

I have experienced that. I'll take a photo standing beside someone else and the perspective or focal point is completely different.

Sometimes we took the exact same picture and sometimes we had different perspectives.

And have a good printer.


oops! Did I say that?

Well all the bills I showed you amounted to not more than a few US dollars, so like a gazillion Canadian!

Skydiving?

Not in a country that doesn't clean it's shrimp! They might not feel the need for parachutes!

That's good. I could see that it might be frustrating if you were widely different in your estimates.

Yeah, I'm glad we were usually on the same page....

I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't that.

I think the halls on other floors looked a bit different, but I didn't really look at them.

Going to go?

Go right through it!

 

[pkondz]

I was starting to wonder.

Ewwww.....remind me not to each shrimp when I go back unless I could see that it had been cleaned.

Don't eat shrimp when you go back unless you can see that it's been cleaned.



You're welcome.

Well all the bills I showed you amounted to not more than a few US dollars, so like a gazillion Canadian!

Yuss!!!!

Not in a country that doesn't clean it's shrimp! They might not feel the need for parachutes!

 

[franandaj]

I’m all caught up, the history and the temples amazing.

It is amazing, but by this point we were so overloaded with information that it was starting to spill out our ears.

The food does not look the best on the cruise, ugh!
I laughed when I saw the shrimp cocktail what was that?

I don't know, but it wasn't shrimp cocktail!

The wine looks good, haha I would be enjoying that with the soup and bread.

I definitely enjoyed the wine once we were done with our walking and touring for the day.

Looking forward to hearing about your last few days!

Just a few more updates left to go!

And then it's on to WDW!

 

[franandaj]

Don't eat shrimp when you go back unless you can see that it's been cleaned.



You're welcome.

I'll expect you to remember this when I go back......

 

[franandaj]

Hey folks! We are almost to the end of this thing, just five more posts! And I’ll be on my way to WDW!

It was not until about 5:40PM that we arrived in Kom Ombo, so we went back to the room, got what we needed and went down to the lobby.

Our guide was already on the ship and we had just barely docked. The temple was very close to the dock and we were there in no time. Jill looks thrilled that we will be climbing more steps tonight.

And our tickets for the entrance.

Here we are past the turnstiles and looking at the front of the Temple. However, I fear that the same amount of Temple fatigue is starting to set in on the trip reporting as was beginning to set in on the trip. This was Temple #5 in the past 50 or so hours. Luckily I found some stuff on the interwebs to supplement this chapter.

This temple is dedicated to Sobek (The Crocodile God) and Haroeris (meaning Horus the Elder). The temple's twin dedication is reflected in its plan: perfectly symmetrical along the main axis of the temple, there are twin entrances, two linked hypostyle halls with carvings of the two gods on either side, and twin sanctuaries. It is assumed that there were also two priesthoods. The left (western) side of the temple was dedicated to the god Haroeris, and the right (eastern) half to Sobek.

You can see the two entrances in this picture.

Here is another wall with carvings depicting stories of Egyptian lore. You see many of the same “players” that are found in the other Temples.

There’s a ton of stuff being depicted here, and I recognize the various gods and many of the symbols that are represented. But as I said, I found some great stuff online to supplement my reporting.

Beyond are the shared inner and outer hypostyle halls, each with 10 columns. Inside the outer hypostyle hall, to the left is a finely executed relief showing Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos being presented to Haroeris by Isis and the lion-headed goddess Raettawy, with Thoth looking on.

Here is another cartouche, and I’m sure Mohammed told us whom it represented, but we digested so much information in those couple weeks, I don’t remember.

There is something significant about this thing that is depicted in this carving here. Both Jill and I have the same picture, perhaps she can shed som light on what this is.

This is the same carving, zoomed out.

This scene was depicted on the back of the temple.

There were these elaborate drawings on the ceiling.

If you’ll remember, this morning he showed us “the first Wifi”, he called these “the first light bulbs”.

Now this I remember was the hospital wing of the Temple.

In this shot, we have traversed from the front of the Temple to the back, and we are looking from the back of the temple towards the front.

Here we are looking at a well.

It sure is deep!

And there’s bats on the walls.

This is another well, right next door.

Now I believe that the well I just showed you was hooked up to this ancient Jacuzzi. Somehow it was able to heat the water and pipe it into this location. I believe that he told us that Cleopatra suffered from rheumatism and used the jacuzzi to soothe her aching muscles.

I don’t know if Mohammed was pulling our legs with that one because at the online site, I found this description.

“Beyond this to the north you will find the deep well that supplied the temple with water, and close by is a small pool in which crocodiles, Sobek’s sacred animal, were raised.”


That was pretty much it for the Temple, so he took a picture of the two of us before we moved on.

[Continued in Next Post]

 

[franandaj]

[Continued from Previous Post}

Right next to Kom Ombo was The Crocodile Museum.

These Mummified Crocodiles were found buried in tombs nearby, when Kom Ombo was excavated.

Crocodiles were worshiped and feared. One of the beliefs was that they were thought to predict the future. Somehow they had a sense of when the river would rise which was observed by how they knew where to lay their eggs in suitable locations.

These crocodiles were buried in special cemeteries sacred to Sobek, such as el-Shatb. Crocodiles were seen as very fertile and virile creatures. The Ancient Egyptians admired the males for their sexual prowess and the females for their fecundity—they lay between 25 and 80 eggs at a time. As parents they carefully guard their young and are fierce fighters. Often mothers take their infants into their mouths in order to protect them from prey. Thus Sobek, like an actual crocodile, was a creator as well as a guardian of the people.

The association of Sobek’s eggs with the act of creation made mummified crocodile eggs and fetuses a popular votive offering to the god.

I believe that these are crocodile “usheptis” buried with the mummies.

All of us tourists were getting back on the boats and going to Aswan tonight, but obviously there is nightlife in Kom Ombo cause this place looked like it would be hopping later tonight!

He took us back to the boat and we both grabbed a glass of white wine from the bar and took it back to the room until we went down for dinner.

We still need to finish the journey, but here’s our map of today’s travels.

Here’s tomorrow’s schedule.

Tonight is the Egyptian Buffet

This lamb which was all dressed up like a god, freaked Jill out! I got a little piece of it, and it wasn’t as tasty as I had hoped.

Again the soup was the best part of the meal.

I don’t have notes on what I ate besides the lamb (which was dry), but I see pita bread, cous cous, some lentils and vegetables.

This is our wine for this evening.

I believe that I had some bread pudding (in the bowl) and these are some puff pastry sort of treats. I’m sure I didn’t eat all of them, but I think I took at least a bite of each one.

After dinner there was a gallabia party (aka dress like an Egyptian night). We were not down with partying with the Russians, not because we had anything against them, but there were several large parties who were celebrating various events. On this night it was someone's birthday in the dining room and the servers all came out with drums and various other noise making instruments and sang a song that had many choruses. We don't speak the language so we didn't know what it meant but every time they broke into a new verse, we were like "really?" I know we are curmudgeons, that's why we get along so well. And get off my lawn!

Besides we had a 3:15AM wake up call. The main reason we weren't going to the party. We found this guy on the bed when we got back to the room.

Next Up: This Guy? Again?

 

[pkondz]

I'll expect you to remember this when I go back......

If you remember that I'm supposed to remember this... you'll probably remember it on your own.

just five more posts! And I’ll be on my way to WDW!

Jill looks thrilled that we will be climbing more steps tonight.

Poor Jill.

However, I fear that the same amount of Temple fatigue is starting to set in on the trip reporting as was beginning to set in on the trip. This was Temple #5 in the past 50 or so hours.

I can see that. I've experienced similar.

This temple is dedicated to Sobek (The Crocodile God)

I totally can see how you'd worship crocodiles... they're scary, powerful, stealthy... etc.

Pretty. I like it.

we digested so much information in those couple weeks, I don’t remember.

Information overload. You ladies have seen a lot!

There is something significant about this thing that is depicted in this carving here. Both Jill and I have the same picture, perhaps she can shed som light on what this is.

"To tie your shoelaces, take both ends..."

This scene was depicted on the back of the temple.

Whole place is so ornate!

If you’ll remember, this morning he showed us “the first Wifi”, he called these “the first light bulbs”.

Now this I remember was the hospital wing of the Temple.

I'm surprised there's a hospital wing... but as I thought about it, it made sense.

Here we are looking at a well.

Oh, well

It sure is deep!

And is that water at the bottom? Looks like a reflection?

And there’s bats on the walls.

cool!

This is another well, right next door.

Well, there ya go.

Now I believe that the well I just showed you was hooked up to this ancient Jacuzzi. Somehow it was able to heat the water and pipe it into this location.

Okay, I could live there... then.

I believe that he told us that Cleopatra suffered from rheumatism and used the jacuzzi to soothe her aching muscles.

Huh!

“Beyond this to the north you will find the deep well that supplied the temple with water, and close by is a small pool in which crocodiles, Sobek’s sacred animal, were raised.”

Um... that's just slightly different from what you were told.

It looks like there's a guide behind you trying to take photos of a group behind him.

Crocodiles were worshiped and feared.

See previous comment.
Heck, Disney does that too... Gators, but...

One of the beliefs was that they were thought to predict the future. Somehow they had a sense of when the river would rise which was observed by how they knew where to lay their eggs in suitable locations.

Huh. But... maybe it's just the eggs that hatch and survive are the ones closest to the river. So... if you have crocs nesting at various distances from the water, only the ones at the right distance will survive... giving the appearance that they know ahead of time.

Or maybe they did know. I'm just spitballing.

To me, this museum is pretty cool. Did you find it so as well? Or had you had enough of museums and temples and oddities by then?

They sure like to arrange their foods...

This lamb which was all dressed up like a god, freaked Jill out! I got a little piece of it, and it wasn’t as tasty as I had hoped.

I can see how Jill could be freaked out by that! And too bad it wasn't very good.

We don't speak the language so we didn't know what it meant but every time they broke into a new verse, we were like "really?" I know we are curmudgeons, that's why we get along so well. And get off my lawn!

We found this guy on the bed when we got back to the room.

Cute.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

I totally understand your temple fatigue. That was us in France/Italy with all the churches at some point. It's still really interesting though but yeah all the stories get mushed together in your brain.

I would have a hard time participating in Dress like an Egyptian night too for similar reasons as why I'm skipping the costume contest at Saluki Nationals this summer - it just doesn't feel right.

 

[franandaj]

I totally can see how you'd worship crocodiles... they're scary, powerful, stealthy... etc.

And can be killers......

Information overload. You ladies have seen a lot!

We were pretty much done, except for one more thing.....

"To tie your shoelaces, take both ends..."

Plausible, shoelaces were even invented back then......

I'm surprised there's a hospital wing... but as I thought about it, it made sense.

People got sick back then!

And is that water at the bottom? Looks like a reflection?

No clue.

Um... that's just slightly different from what you were told.

Yeah, not quite sure who to believe....I mean the interwebs don't lie!

It looks like there's a guide behind you trying to take photos of a group behind him.

I didn't even notice that, but you're right!

See previous comment.
Heck, Disney does that too... Gators, but...

Huh. But... maybe it's just the eggs that hatch and survive are the ones closest to the river. So... if you have crocs nesting at various distances from the water, only the ones at the right distance will survive... giving the appearance that they know ahead of time.

Or maybe they did know. I'm just spitballing.

Your guess is as good as mine!

To me, this museum is pretty cool. Did you find it so as well? Or had you had enough of museums and temples and oddities by then?

No, we thought it was really cool. We spent a pretty good amount of time in there checking out the exhibits and such.

They sure like to arrange their foods...

Yup, I wonder how long it took to arrange that one.

I can see how Jill could be freaked out by that! And too bad it wasn't very good.

Yeah, I had a lot better lamb on this trip previously.

 

[jedijill]

Jill looks thrilled that we will be climbing more steps tonight.

I was tired!

here is something significant about this thing that is depicted in this carving here. Both Jill and I have the same picture, perhaps she can shed som light on what this is.

I totally don't remember! LOL

The guide told us his father was the mayor of Kom Ombo (the city)...I choose the believe him. The lights went out at the temple for a couple of minutes...I told him he should call his dad! They came back on and we were able to finish the tour. I found Kom Ombo to be fascinating...loved all the crocodile mummies!

Dinner was not great and we also skipped the party because we had a VERY early wake up call the next morning. dun dun dun dunnnnnn.

Jill in CO

 

[franandaj]

I totally understand your temple fatigue. That was us in France/Italy with all the churches at some point. It's still really interesting though but yeah all the stories get mushed together in your brain.

Yeah, I think when visiting places with deep rich history, it's important to break up your visit with things in a variety of categories. The first week was like that, but as we reached the end of the trip, it was just one temple after another.

The Crocodile museum was a welcome diversion.

I would have a hard time participating in Dress like an Egyptian night too for similar reasons as why I'm skipping the costume contest at Saluki Nationals this summer - it just doesn't feel right.

Neither Jill nor I are big costume folks. I think after her stint as Edna Mode at MNSSHP, she's done dressing up.

 

[pkondz]

And can be killers......

All the more reason to worship... from afar.

We were pretty much done, except for one more thing.....

Plausible, shoelaces were even invented back then......

Oh, yeah? I never thought about when they were invented. Huh.

People got sick back then!

I know! I was thinking more... what better place to care for people then a place of worship?

Yeah, not quite sure who to believe....I mean the interwebs don't lie!

No, we thought it was really cool. We spent a pretty good amount of time in there checking out the exhibits and such.

Okay, good.

Yup, I wonder how long it took to arrange that one.

Now if they'd spent the time on making the food taste good instead...

I was tired!

Awww... poor Jill.

The guide told us his father was the mayor of Kom Ombo (the city)...I choose the believe him. The lights went out at the temple for a couple of minutes...I told him he should call his dad!

Dinner was not great and we also skipped the party because we had a VERY early wake up call the next morning. dun dun dun dunnnnnn.

More foreshadowing!

 

[franandaj]

I was tired!

We both were!

I totally don't remember! LOL

Information overload.

The guide told us his father was the mayor of Kom Ombo (the city)...I choose the believe him. The lights went out at the temple for a couple of minutes...I told him he should call his dad!

I forgot about the lights going out.

They came back on and we were able to finish the tour. I found Kom Ombo to be fascinating...loved all the crocodile mummies!

Yes! Especially the Crocodile mummies. It's like they were smiling at us!

Dinner was not great and we also skipped the party because we had a VERY early wake up call the next morning. dun dun dun dunnnnnn.

This dinner wasn't as bad as the previous night, but it was a close second in the scheme of worst dinners.

 

[franandaj]

All the more reason to worship... from afar.

Oh, yeah? I never thought about when they were invented. Huh.

I was going to make a smart-butt remark about them not having been invented yet, but Google says they were invented around 2000BC and showed a picture of a laced sandal.

I know! I was thinking more... what better place to care for people then a place of worship?

Good point.

Now if they'd spent the time on making the food taste good instead...

Yeah, but that's a bit harder to train the staff on. Utensil and food placement is easy.

More foreshadowing!

 

[pkondz]

I was going to make a smart-butt remark about them not having been invented yet, but Google says they were invented around 2000BC and showed a picture of a laced sandal.

Well there ya go.

Yeah, but that's a bit harder to train the staff on. Utensil and food placement is easy.

Yup

 

[jedijill]

Yeah, but that's a bit harder to train the staff on. Utensil and food placement is easy.

Or when to say Bon Apetit!

 

[pkondz]

Or when to say Bon Apetit!

 

[franandaj]

Well there ya go.

Or when to say Bon Apetit!

 

[franandaj]

3:15 came super early, but I had laid out all my clothes and everything I needed for the day. It was just a matter of putting it on and getting going. We were picked up pretty close to the 4AM pick up time and went to join in with all the other vans and busses who were on their way to Abu Simbel.

Here we are driving through town at 4AM - predawn.

In Egypt, ordinary people can not move freely about the country. Areas are guarded by police and military checkpoints. We saw this on the way to Alexandria as well. Tourist drivers seem to have an exemption, either that or the tour company registers them at the checkpoint so that they may pass without hassle. Our drivers would just flash a little card at the sentry and they would wave them through. Often times the sentries knew the drivers and you could tell by their smiles.

From what I understand, and I think Jill imparted this information to me, overnight they have to sweep the desert between Aswan and Abu Simbel for terrorists and other militants. Abu Simbel is very close to the border with Sudan, and they don’t want anything bad to happen to the tourists. So at 5AM all the tourists caravan in various busses and vans from Aswan to Abu Simbel.

I dozed in the car as much as I could. I noticed as we drove on this road that there was something peculiar about it. Because the sun had not risen yet, I had no way of knowing that we were driving on top of the Aswan Dam. The structure that brought wealth to this region and caused the structure we were on our way to visit to be relocated back in 1968.

It was close to 5AM when we waited in a very long line of tourist vans in the dark. I was dozing so I didn't notice how long we waited, but finally we were back traveling up to speed (around 120 kph). I tried to doze, but eventually the sun started to rise and I couldn't resist taking pictures even at 120kph.

Once the sun was up, I had no chance of sleeping. The drive was pretty boring, just like the one when we drove to Wadi Rum.

We stopped at a local place that had bathrooms and coffee. While in the bathroom line, there was a rude lady who cut into the line just behind us, and all the way to the front of the line she kept trying to get in front of us. I'm not going to miss all the pushy people who have no sense of personal space.

Jill got me a coffee as she finished first. The only creamer they had was the powdered stuff. This is back in the car with my coffee and water. Fancy breakfast huh?

Our cruise ship had provided us with this breakfast box. Turns out those rolls had the nasty pressed meat inside one and cheese in the other. The only parts I ate were the croissant and the Mango juice. I know they meant well, but it just wasn't very appetizing to me. Jill didn't eat much of hers either.

The rest of the trip was super boring. Just a two lane highway and a lot of passing going on. Mostly us passing the busses and other cars and trucks, but occasionally one of the tourist vans would overtake us.

There was some construction going on and our guide said that they were trying to extend this Canal to the western desert so that they could grow wheat out there. Everyone was diverted onto a dirt portion of the road here to get around some of the construction.

This is the Canal under construction.

And these were the ones that had been previously built where the water could be further diverted.

This was some of the most exciting scenery. No those aren't pyramids, they're just big mounds of dirt.

The day before when looking at Google maps, Jill realized that Abu Simbel was pretty close to the border with Sudan. Around this point in the drive, I realized that on this trip we will have basically traveled from the top of Egypt (Alexandria) to the bottom (Abu Simbel). When I pointed this out to Jill she remarked, "We've gone for Niles and Niles and Niles.

(((((Rim shot)))))

I'm here all week, try the veal, tip your server."

Finally we reached our destination. We exited the van and headed towards the ticket counter. As usual, I had to stop to pee. Previously I'm not sure that there was a dollar amount (or should I say Egyptian Pound) on the price for the bathroom. Normally I gave bathroom attendants 10 pounds. In fact that's the amount I handed most folks, unless they performed a real service that demanded more. There were two women in front of me who were turned away (after waiting in a fairly long line) for only offering 5 pounds a piece at the restroom.

I think our guide was a little perturbed that I had to make so many pit stops, but that's what happens to women over 55 like me. Young ladies appreciate it while you can.

It seems that the farther out of civilization you get, the more aggressive the children and old men get at trying to sell you their crap. I felt like the guy in the movie Airplane when he is trying to get into the airport and he keeps getting hassled by religious types asking for donations and ends up in a full on brawl.

OK, so it didn’t get that bad, but they sure were even more annoying this far south. Or maybe my tolerance level was just getting even lower the longer the trip went on.

We made it through and past the turnstiles and soon we could behold this!

And at this point I tried to use my big camera and it started beeping at me. I took the battery out hoping to reset the camera. And it didn't work. In the hot sun, I couldn't see the screen of the camera well enough to even figure out what the screen was telling me. So I just put it in my purse and carried it with me for the rest of the morning.

[Continued in Next Post]

 

[franandaj]

[Continued from Previous Post]

So just so you have this background, I’m going to quote Wikipedia here as that site can put it much for eloquently than I.

Abu Simbel is a historic site comprising two massive rock-cut temples in the village of Abu Simbel, Aswan Governorate, Upper Egypt, near the border with Sudan. It is located on the western bank of Lake Nasser, about 230 km (140 mi) southwest of Aswan (about 300 km (190 mi) by road). The twin temples were originally carved out of the mountainside in the 13th century BC, during the 19th Dynasty reign of the Pharaoh Ramesses II.

The complex was relocated in its entirety in 1968 to higher ground to avoid it being submerged by Lake Nasser, the Aswan Dam reservoir. As part of the International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia, an artificial hill was made from a domed structure to house the Abu Simbel Temples, under the supervision of a Polish archaeologist, Kazimierz Michałowski.

The single entrance is flanked by four colossal, 20 m (66 ft) statues, each representing Ramesses II seated on a throne and wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. The statue to the immediate left of the entrance was damaged in an earthquake, causing the head and torso to fall away; these fallen pieces were not restored to the statue during the relocation but placed at the statue's feet in the positions originally found. Next to Ramesses's legs are a number of other, smaller statues, none higher than the knees of the pharaoh, depicting: his chief wife, Nefertari Meritmut; his queen mother Mut-Tuy; his first two sons, Amun-her-khepeshef and Ramesses B; and his first six daughters: Bintanath, Baketmut, Nefertari, Meritamen, Nebettawy and Isetnofret.

These imposing figures of Ramses were placed at nearly the southernmost tip of Egypt (we were only 20km from Sudan at that point) as a warning to invaders from the Sudan and other African locations that Egypt was a strong warrior country and they should have second thoughts about invading.

This version of Ramses II has him wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt.

The entrance doorway itself is surmounted by bas-relief images of the king worshiping the falcon-headed Ra Horakhty, whose statue stands in a large niche. Ra holds the hieroglyph user and a feather in his right hand, with Maat (the goddess of truth and justice) in his left; this is a cryptogram for Ramesses II's throne name, User-Maat-Re.

In this picture, the two statues of Ramses II are wearing only the Crown of Lower Egypt.

Fayed urged us to go inside promptly as he said that the week before the lines were very long, and right now it was relatively short.

Here we are entering the Temple. Remember back in that chapter on Memphis Egypt where we saw that giant sized statues of the Pharaoh Ramses? And remember I showed you this shot of his wrist with the cartouches on it and I wondered whose names were represented there? Well guess what? I figured it out. They are both representations of Ramses II name! One is his birth name and the other is his throne name.

See on this carving as you enter the Temple? You can see the same cartouches. They are not in the same configuration, but I believe that all the same symbols are inside the oval and that’s what counts.

I believe that this is another representation of his Cartouche.

Inside the Temple there are more statues of Ramses. Each statue depicts Ramses in the position of Osiris with his arms crossed over his chest.

I had to basically wade through a mosh pit to get this shot. Even so I was still at least 1 deep back in the crowd, holding my phone over the heads of others to take it. Good thing I wasn't carrying the big camera around my neck, otherwise my fellow mosh pitters would have gotten a big fat lens right in the middle of their backs. Or lower if they were taller.

This is one of the side walls of that gallery. They are preparing to go to the afterlife in the boat….

I believe that this was one of the walls out in the main part of the temple and not in that sacred chamber at the back.

And one of the pillars that was not Ramses.

There were all sorts of little chambers filled with carvings. But it felt like it was 1000° with 200% humidity. We went into a few rooms, but it was just too stifling inside. I took a few pictures of them, but in the end, neither of us could take the heat and shoving anymore and we just left. The pictures don’t show the crowds because I really tried to get shots without people, but believe me, it was packed inside there.

This was a room that wasn’t so packed.

Jill called this one, “bringing morning Starbucks.”

This is a very common image and we’ve seen it on tons of Temples, but alas I have forgotten what exactly it depicts. I know that the large figure is the King and the other figure is Ra the Sun God, but what they’re doing is a mystery to me.

I’ll wrap it up here.

Next Up: Husbands. Take Some Notes!