Day 12. Wed 24th September
The M. S Doma sets sail
This is the first day of the entire trip that we don't actually have to
get up, but Oisìn wants to go and photograph the Luxor Temple in
daylight, so we all, except Jo who has more sense, are up at 7 and over
the road to the temple. The temple was originally built in the 18th dynasty
by Amenhotep III (1387-1350) although it is believed that even then he
built on the site of an earlier shrine. It was added to by most of the
major pharaohs, including Tutankhamen, the major alterations being made
by Rameses II who, as was his wont, erected several gigantic statues of
himself and his favourite wife Nefertari.
The newcomers were up at five o'clock to do the donkey ride to the Valley
of the Kings, so, after a leisurely breakfast the girls go off shopping
while Martin, Oisìn and I visit the Egyptian Museum. It's only a
mile or so but we decide to take a calesh, and as luck would have it we
run into my old bidental friend on calesh number 62, who agrees to wait
outside the museum until we are finished and then drive us home again.
The museum is interesting, and contains a whole section of statues
that were discovered in the temple in 1989, yet again illustrating how
much of an ongoing excercise the whole Egyptology thing is.
We meet the girls for tea and chocolate eclairs at the Sheraton Cafe
on the riverbank, and then head back to the Doma. The donkey riders return
about one o'clock, and we immediately loose our moorings and are off on
our cruise up the Nile to Aswan. We sunbathe, sleep, read, play scrabble
with Judy and Martin who are experts, and I set up a backgammon school
and teach Amy, Aaron and Martin the rudiments.
Supper is at eight, and there is a little excitment as we negotiate
the lock at Isma, which is large enough to take three ships as big as ours
all at once.
More beers and an early night. This is going to be a fairly relaxing
week.
