Since life in ancient Egypt depended on the Nile, that is where most of the ruins can be found. Not a bad way to travel!

First, our boat cruised down to Edfu. The Temple of Edfu is dedicated to the falcon god Horus (Ryan’s second favorite god. Don’t get him started on Imhotep...). Inside, you can see the statue where Egyptians believed Horus lived. Every year, Horus’s wife’s statue (a goddess named Hathor who had a cow head) was brought to him and they were left alone in the temple to consummate their marriage.

Unfortunately, many of the faces on the reliefs were defaced by the early Coptic Christians.

Next, we went to the Temple of Kom Ombo. This temple is interesting because additions were made to it in the Roman period so it’s a mix of ancient Egyptian and Roman architecture. Plus, it has a museum attached to it where you can see mummified crocodiles!

The next morning, we had a casual 3:30AM wakeup call to join the daily police convoy across the vast dessert to visit amazing Abu Simbel. Yes, it was worth it. These two gigantic rock temples are so precious that in 1968 they were relocated 200 meters stone-by-stone to save them from the rising Nile.

Later that day, we visited one more temple , which was one of our favorites: Philae Temple. It’s located on an island and dedicated to love. What more could you want?

Our last activity was one of the most fascinating: we sailed in a traditional felucca (Egyptian sailboat) to visit a Nubian village, meet their chief, and have tea in his home. The sail was absolutely fabulous and the Nile glistened as the sunset. Seeing a real Nubian village was incredible! If a little awkward. It was a delight to talk to locals and see their way of life. Even if holding the pet crocodiles was a bit more than we bargained for!