May 24, 2003
on the Nile from Aswan to Kom Ombo

Today we are taking a felucca (Egyptian sailboat) north up the Nile from Aswan to Kom Ombo. I'm just going to make one long journal entry for the next few days because I have lost track of the date while writing in my notebook. I was kind of anxious about being on a boat for 2 days and 2 nights because all three of us are suffering from gastrointestinal distress. I have not figured out how the WC works on a felucca. WC btw stands for Water Closet which is what lots of people call the bathroom. At the Temple of Isis we saw a bathroom entitled V.I.P. W.C. which turned out to be just as dirty, smelly and void of toilet paper as the non-V.I.P. W.C.

We went to a museum in Aswan before we left with artifacts that dated to 4200 BC. So old !! It was interesting to see that back then they had the same kinds of personal items we have now... Combs, necklaces, make-up accessories that are really quite similar to modern ones. Also saw a mummy head which was really cool. It was just the head... wonder what happened to the rest of the body.. I wondered who the person was and how he or she (think it was a he) would feel if he knew his severed head was on display at a museum thousands of years in the future. I wonder how I would feel about MY severed head being displayed in a museum thousands of years in the future... Wanted to take a pic but the light was bad. After the museum we sailed to the island of Philae where the Temple of Isis stood. Like Abu Simbel, the temple had to be relocated after the Aswan Dam was built otherwise it would be ruined.

Tired of barganing and people asking for baksheesh (tips, bribes).

Something interesting: Everyone who has asked where I am from, I have told I am American. No negative response ever. The most common response has been a smile followed by "Welcome !" As I reasurred anxious folks at home, people can differentiate between American people and our government. It's too bad more *Americans* can't differentiate between the individual citizens of another country and their government. Perhaps if they traveled more...

I can't believe the two British girls on our felucca. They are sunbathing only in bikini bottoms and they were wearing short short and tank tops before. Scandalous !! One of them is fascinatingly emaciated. I have seen her eat so I don't know if she is anorexic or not but she doesn't eat meat or any pasta products. I drew a quick sketch while she wasn't looking. Here's another doodle from abord the boat.

No idea what day it is... Just woke up from sleeping on the boat. Feeling kinda sticky. The food has been great; felafel, salad, pasta, lentils, fruit so we don't get scruvey and Captain Mohammed is a rad captain ! My sunglasses fell off into the water and he went in after them ! Fortunately we only in about 5 feet of water otherwise I would never have seen them again. I felt pretty bad that he took that bath in the icky Nile water so I gave him the rest of our baklava. Baklava here is soooo delicious.... way better than the stuff back at home. I also drew a picture of him which I gave him. He was thrilled ! I am really enjoying the felucca trip except for being incredibly dirty.... Need... shower....

This morning Liz and I did yoga on the boat in the morning. Captain Mohammed and his son must have thought we were totally insane.

Here's a video of Liz and Anjie brainstorming ideas for the name of the documentary of our trip if we ever made one: VIP WC and the Queen of the Midnight Camel Rides.

Tonight Captain Mohammed taught us some Bedouin songs and we sang silly songs for him like Row Row Row Your Boat, 99 Bottle of Beer, and I've Been Working on the Railroad. It's kinda neat to think I am sleeping on the Nile. It's warm enough not to need blankets but not too warm.

Once we reached Kom Ombo we went to the Temple of Sobek which was fairly empty of tourists and then a bus to Edfu to see the Temple of Horus which was totally packed. It was built in 237 BC so it was the last of the great temples built. It's interesting that the style is the same as all the old temples, even the ones that were built in 3000 BC. It looked like a lot of the figures and especially the faces on the temple walls had been deliberately scratched out. I wonder why...