A village, a livestock market, and the quarries--Days 9-11

It's day 3 of our cruise on the Nile.  There's no wind so we are being gently pulled along.

We pass farmlands...

...and villages along the way.  Notice how close the sand of the desert is to the river. 

We stop for a visit on Besaw Island.  We watch as this farmer is irrigating his fields.

When our dehabeya moors along the shore, the kids of the village come running to greet us.  That's our Trip Leader, Tarek, posing with the kids.

We will be visiting a family here, learning about their life as farmers, and we will have lunch in their home.  Tarek introduces us to Mohammed...

We get a little lesson in planting onions...

...and then we, and I mean Terry, pitches in to help plant a row.

Here's Mohammed's and the villagers' farmland.  During the flood season, it is all underwater.

We learn about his banana crops...

 ...and follow him to his home.

 Of course, we are offered tea...

...and then visit with him about his family and his life here on this island as a farmer.

It's then time for lunch so us women help his wife put the food on the table...

The meal was delicious and we all showed our appreciation with a round of applause.

Back on our dehabeya, we cruise to our next destination...

 ...a rocky gorge where the high sandstone cliffs come right down to the water's edge.

We leave the yacht to explore the ancient quarry that provided the stones to built almost all of Egypt's great monuments and temples.

 Tarek is showing us the cuts in the stone where blocks were removed...

As we walk back to the boat, Tarek points out this hole in the rock...

 ...rope was threaded through the hole to hold the stones as they were lowered down to the river to be floated on the river to the construction site.  It is estimated the amount of sandstone mined here during the era of the pharaohs is eight million tons!

 

A curious man watching us...

As we sailed off, we saw an archaeological team working; a sacred temple was recently discovered here.

Another beautiful sunset on the River Nile.

The next morning we took the local transportation--three-wheeled tok-toks--to visit Fares, a traditional Egyptian village.

We stopped to see a local craftsman, a basket maker named Mohammed. (seems to be a very common name here in Egypt.)

We all gathered around and watched.

He shows us how he makes baskets from palm reeds. He sells them to farmers for their transport of fruits, vegetables and chickens.

 His feet came  in very handy...

 A finished product will sell for about $3USD in high season.

Then Terry got to try making a basket along with fellow traveler, Don.

They did great!

Here's a stack of baskets ready for sale to be used to bring fruits, vegetables, and even chickens to market. 

Before leaving, Mohammed presented each one of us with an ankh, which is the symbol of life in Egypt.  It resembles the Nile Delta and river.  The Nile is considered the gift of life to Egypt.

We returned to the yacht to cruise on to Kom Ombo, a riverside town that is home to Egypt's only double temple.

The Graeco-Roman temple features one side dedicated to the local crocodile god, Sobek.  

The other side honors the falcon god, Haroeris.  Everything is symmetrical.

Another unique feature of Kom Ombo is a series of engravings thought to be among the world's first representations of medical and surgical instruments.  This was a temple used for healing.

Look close for what resembles medical instruments...forceps, etc.

 And here is an engraving of a woman giving birth.

Since half the temple was dedicated to the crocodile god, next door was a "crocodile museum"....mummified crocs, that is...

Some were still wrapped and others unwrapped...

Back on the ship, we relaxed as we sailed along...

Then it was time to  watch the crew moor the ship for the night..

Even the locals like to watch..

We spent the night just outside the town of Daraw.  Our activity here is to visit the livestock market.  Throughout the year, cows, goats, camels, and other livestock are traded in a bustling market in Daraw.

We hop aboard pick-up trucks and head over to the market.

It was a wild ride through the town.

When we arrive, we are in a sea of turbans!

..as we follow Tarek, wandering through the different sections of the market.

The locals are curious

 The scene was dusty, colorful, and FUN!

The camels have one leg tied up to keep them from roaming.

Vendors selling supplies like ropes, etc.

Again, we are a hit with the kids!

These men are loading a water buffalo into a pickup truck.

Time to go...

After lunch on board the dehabeya, we set off on a six-hour cruise to Aswan, our final port of call for the cruise.

To pass the time, our chef shows us how to make a favorite Egyptian dish, moussaka.

 It was delicious!

We stopped briefly so that we could all put our toes into the River Nile.

That evening was our last sunset of the cruise.  We watched as a felucca sailed by just as the sun was setting for a perfect photo.

The next day we leave the dehabeya and head to Abu Simbel and Aswan.  The cruise has been an awesome experience...can it get any better?  I'm thinking so...

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