Egypt February 2-17, 2025 |
|
Sunday, February 16, 2025 - Philae Temple, Unfinished Obelisk, Return to CairoAfter a nice evening of relaxation and a good night's sleep, Craig awakened reinvigorated. We were glad that we hadn't pushed ourselves to try to go to the market last night. Although it is something we would have liked to have seen in a perfect world, the circumstances of the day trip to Abu Simbel had left Craig too exhausted to try to do it. We probably would have regretted it and he would have perhaps felt the after-effects this morning.This morning we had our final breakfast at the Old Cataract Hotel and checked out. We had coffee, orange juice, charcuterie, cheese, bread, granola, yogurt, cream-filled donuts, sausage, white cheese, and Craig had a mushroom and cheese omelet. We put our bags outside the suite door and the bellmen came to get them while we checked out. We will really miss this amazing hotel; it has been a wonderful example of hospitality, and the suite was phenomenal! We drove a short distance to a place between the old Aswan Dam and the new High Dam (6 km apart) where we boarded a motorboat which took us to the Philae Temple complex, which is on an island. From the boat we could see the old dam (this time from the inside) and a variety of granite islands. Even before the High Dam was built, this temple complex was flooded for 8 months of the year as a result of the building of the old Aswan Dam. Things would only get worse with the building of the High Dam, which would cause the temple complex to be completely and permanently submerged. Between 1972 and 1980, they built a coffer dam around the temple complex and pumped out the water, so that they were able to dismantle it into 40,000 blocks and move it from its original location on Philae Island to a nearby island called Agilkia Island. Agilkia Island is around 500 meters away and has higher ground. We disembarked from our motorboat at Agilkia Island. We immediately noticed that there are many cats at this site. Ashraf explained that there is a sound and light show here at night, and rats kept chewing the electrical cables. So they introduced a few cats which have since bred and kept the rat population at bay. The temple complex is dedicated to the goddess Isis. Philae Island had been one of the places where Osiris was believed to have been buried. Because of this, it was a location of pilgrimage. People believed that if Isis could resurrect Osiris, that they could petition Isis for resurrection here as well. There were raised relief carvings of Isis suckling baby Horus. This motif may have been an inspiration for Christian Madonna and child iconography. The first temple to be built here was actually a small shrine to Hathor. Both Hathor and Isis were mother goddesses, being mothers to pharaohs. This Hathor shrine is called the Kiosk of Nectanebo I, and Hathor's face is carved into its columns. Nectanebo I was one of the last ethnic Egyptian pharaohs before foreign rulers took over. He reigned around 370 BC. The majority of the Philae complex contains GrecoRoman-built temples which date back to 200BC. The Ptolemies (Greek rulers of Egypt of the period) built here over the course of their dynasty, all the way through to Ptolemy XII. Some of the columns in the open court were left unfinished, as interest in the Egyptian gods waned when Christianity took hold in the area. There is actually an altar niche with a Coptic cross carved into it in the first hypostyle hall, which was used by early Christians as a place of worship.  Looking out over Lake Nasser is a picturesque structure called Trajan's Kiosk. This dates back to Roman rule in Egypt, and though it contains carvings of Roman Emperor/Pharaoh Trajan (who ruled circa 100 AD), it could actually date back to the reign of Augustus (30 BC - 14 AD). Ashraf gave us some free time to wander the site, and we met up with him at the Coca Cola Temple. We got back onto the motorboat and passed by Trajan's Kiosk on our way back to the shore. We understand why Philae is renowned for its beauty. The fact that it is on a small island and that the temple structures can be seen reflected in the water, as well as the well-preserved raised relief carvings contribute to its romantic quality. It would have been tragic if such a gorgeous site had been lost forever to the water. We got back into the van and drove back towards Aswan to the site of the Unfinished Obelisk. This was located in a granite quarry within the city limits where stones were mined for various ancient buildings. Here they tried to create the largest obelisk in ancient times, measuring 42 meters high by 4 meters wide and weighing in at 42 tons. Obelisks were carved in situ by using dolorite, a mineral second in hardness only to diamonds. Then, to detach them from the earth, they would make holes under the obelisk and insert wood. They would then wet the wood, and when it expanded it would separate from the rock underlayment. This large obelisk cracked before they got to that step, so it was abandoned in the quarry. It reminded us of unfinished moai in the quarry at Easter Island. Today, granite is very inexpensive in Aswan , costing only $7 per square meter. Compare that to $100 per square foot in the USA! It was cool to walk around the granite quarry. There was a sign cataloging all of the Egyptian obelisks which have been discovered, many of which now reside in different countries, including the USA, France, Türkiye, the UK, Italy, and the Vatican. There were also paintings on the quarry walls depicting ducks. There had been more paintings as well, but shoddy preservation methods ended up destroying them. We got back into the van and had a nice chat with Ashraf. We were a little bit early for the airport, and he asked if we'd like to stop somewhere to do some shopping. We decided that we would rather go straight to the airport. We'd rather be there a little bit early. We said goodbye to him. We dropped him off and picked up Michael, our Aswan DAI tour leader. Michael got us all checked in at the airport. We had a nice chat with him and said our goodbyes before going through security. One of the airport employees remembered us from yesterday and helped Craig through. Our flight from Aswan to Cairo was delayed by 45 minutes. We each had a slice of pizza and did a little souvenir shopping at the airport. Craig had wanted an Egypt T-shirt with hieroglyphs on it, but hadn't wanted to deal with hawkers and haggling. Here at the airport there was a nice fixed-price gift shop where he found a quality shirt in his size for a reasonable price. I also bought a small wooden doll that I thought would go well with my collection of Russian nesting dolls. Craig saw a couple that we recognized from Abu Simbel yesterday. The man was in a wheelchair, and Craig told him that we had gotten a good photo of the Nefertari temple with noone but him and his wheelchair attendant in the picture. His name is Jason and his partner's name is Lesley. They are from Vancouver. We exchanged contact information so that we could send them the photo. We chatted with them, bonding over the fact that he and Craig are still adventuring even with their disabilities. When our plane finally arrived, it was an Air Cambodia jet instead of Nile Air, but we were just glad that a plane showed up. We would be flying home in the wee hours of the morning. A cancellation of this flight to Cairo would thoroughly mess up our return trip home. The flight was short (1 hour and 15 minutes). When we arrived at Cairo, we were met by a familiar face: our Cairo tour leader Shady, who helped us to collect our luggage. When we got out to the car, we heard "Habibi!!" and saw our driver Abraham! It was like a homecoming. So much has transpired since we last saw them! The airport was quite close to our hotel, the Waldorf Astoria Cairo Heliopolis. However, we were stuck at an intersection at which we would have to cross over 9 lanes of rush hour traffic to get to the hotel's entrance. Once again, we were so glad that we had the amazing Abraham braving the traffic for us. The sun was setting while we were stuck in traffic. We think it was the only sunset we missed on the entire trip! There were cops directing traffic, and when they finally allowed the traffic to move in our direction, Abraham got us to the hotel. The hotel was amazing; it had a lobby with ceilings so high that there were full grown palm trees inside. We checked in with just 5 hours to relax, shower, and pack for the journey home before heading out to the airport again. As the woman at the check-in desk told us about the hotel's amenities, we thanked her, but explained that we wouldn't have time to make use of anything other than the room itself. She laughed and said that we would just need to come back sometime when we had more time. As one of her colleagues led us to room 404, we had the same conversation, since he was eager to show us the restaurant and spa facilities. The sleek modern room was quite comfortable. It was a bit of a toss-up as to whether we should try to nap or not, but we ultimately decided not to. Our flight was a red-eye, so hopefully we could sleep on the flight. To keep ourselves awake for now, we made use of the coffee maker. We ate the complimentary fresh macarons, chocolates, and other goodies provided in the room. We filled out the trip survey paperwork that Shady had given us. We also took showers and packed our bags for the long journey home. We were so glad that DAI had recommended taking plenty of US $1 and $5 bills for tips. It had come in very handy. Almost everyone preferred US cash to Egyptian pounds. The amount we had brought had been almost enough to get us through, but I would need a bit more for the trip home, to tip baggage handlers, wheelchair attendants at the airports, etc. When we went down to the lobby to check out at 10:45 p.m., the same woman was still on duty. She asked how we had enjoyed our short stay, and we said that it had been perfect (but too short!) We asked her if she had US change for a $20. She said that she didn't, but said that there is a bank on the other side of the immense lobby which should have change. Really, a bank open at 11 p.m.? We thought that this sounded unlikely, but we thanked her and headed off to find the bank. The hotel complex was like a city within a city. There were multiple restaurants, business centers, ballrooms, shops, etc. all under one roof. We walked out the back of the lobby into a corridor and found the 24-hour bank. We got change for our $20 and walked back to the lobby, meeting Shady right on time at 11 p.m. Our hotel stay included breakfast, which we obviously wouldn't be able to eat since we were leaving in the middle of the night. But they put together some breakfast boxes for us, with juice boxes, water, pastries, and a sandwich. We barely had time to eat them on the short drive to the airport. Once we arrived at the airport, we got photos with Shady and Abraham. They had been wonderful and we really appreciated their service and hospitality. Shady accompanied us into the airport to help us get checked in. After going through security, we were brought to the business class lounge. We were very grateful that we had splurged for business class tickets. As much as Craig loves to travel, it is hard on his body. He runs on adrenaline, and after two weeks of busy sightseeing, he reaches his limit and the adrenaline starts to wear off. Philae Temple Unfinished Obelisk Waldorf Astoria Heliopolis Cairo |
 Philae Temple on Agilkia Island  Philae Temple on Agilkia Island  Philae Feline  Philae Temple  Philae Temple  Raised relief carving of Isis suckling Horus at Philae Temple  Raised relief carvings at Philae Temple  Guard, Philae Temple  Hathor columns at the Kiosk of Nectanebo I at Philae  Trajan's Kiosk, Philae Temple Complex  Trajan's Kiosk, Philae Temple Complex  Lobby of Waldorf Astoria Heliopolis See all photos from February 16 |
 1902 Restaurant at Old Cataract Hotel  Philae Temple  Unfinished Obelisk |
|
|
 |
|
 |
