We woke up to breakfast and tea again (this time eggs, pitas, and Laughing Cow cheese and jam), then packed our bags and into a minibus we went...again. We were carted to the Temple of Kom Ombo. Half of the symmetrical temple was dedicated to Horus (falcon-headed god), and half to the local crocodile god. We only had an hour to see it, and were scolded by the minibus driver for being late to return.
On the minibus again (see a pattern here?), and off to the Edfu to see the Temple of Horus. This was really remarkable, huge, and interesting. The majority of these temples suffered defacing in the form of chisels to the face and feet, sometimes the whole body. It's a shame, but thankfully there is plenty that has been left untouched. We latched onto a tour group for a bit and learned more about Horus and his mother, Isis, and the unification of Upper Egypt (south) and Lower Egypt (north) and the combination of their crowns. Most of this I learned in Survery of Art History 1, but it was nice to have a refresher. Again, we only had one hour, which wasn't nearly enough, but this time we made it back to the bus on time.
After a checkpoint and another half hour or so, we arrived in Luxor. Our hotel, the Royal House Hotel, is 3 stars, and the best place we've stayed in so far. They even have a pool on the roof! We took VERY MUCH NEEDED showers after two days on the felucca, then went in search of a few beers. Not easy to find, but I asked a local deli if they had any, and he hinted to me that they did, but to keep quiet, as there was another customer in the shop and it was a secret. When she had left, he got the beers from the back of the shop and double bagged them. He didn't charge us tourist prices either, which was nice. We took our beer and headed to the roof deck to chill out a bit. When we arrived, we ran into our friend, Nick, from the felucca. After a while the three of us headed out for dinner and a bit of a birthday celebration.
We ended up at a falafel place where again, we weren't overcharged (17LE for all three plus drinks!). From there, we wandered down to the Luxor temple and the big square in front of it. Boys were kicking around a soccer ball, and though there were people selling things, we didn't get hassled much because everyone thinks Guevara is Egyptian. This is a very nice advantage, trust me. We walked back into the market area after a while and had tea and shisha again for 15LE for the three (doing well!). When G asked what else I wanted to do for my birthday, I decided to be super touristy and get a horse and carriage ride. It was only 30LE for the three of us, and was totally worth it. Our guide's name was "Shaggy" like the singer...haha. A cross-eyed and sweet characted who took us all around and acted as a tour guide, letting us see parts of Luxor we surely wouldn't have had time to find on our own. While out, G bought a (I can't spell it for the life of me, so won't try now) long white garmet made of lightweight cotton that goes down to the ankles. Now he really fits in, and when someone was trying to coerce Nick into a store, he just turned around and put his hand out to say "no", and the guy apologized in Arabic. Too funny. We headed back, and here I am, typing away for 5LE an hour. Now, to bed, as we have an early start and a ton of sight-seeing to do tomorrow in Luxor before boarding the miserable night train back to Cairo (arriving Nov 14).
A great and memorable birthday, but I miss you all. Hugs and kisses!
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