Can I tell you a secret? I’m not loving it here.
Maybe I’m tired from being away from home for too long, maybe it’s the ear infection getting me down, but I wouldn’t consider coming back to Egypt. Maybe it’s churlish to complain when I’ve currently got this view.
But I’m in my room because it’s unbearably hot outside. Also contributing to my grumpiness is the feeling that I’ve been ripped off by the onboard gift shop. If I was a more zen person I would let the irritation roll off me like water off a duck’s back, and chalk it up to experience. I can see I’d be a happier woman if I could do that. As it is, I spent the night tossing and turning in bed, imagining scenarios where I confronted the unctuous salesman. It’s an evolving situation, we can say. Did I mention it was several thousand dollars of jewellery I bought?
We were allowed a relative sleep in this morning, not meeting our guide until 8:30. It was completely wasted on me of course, awake and torturing myself with regrets as I was. The boat was actually docked right outside our destination, Kom Ombo.
I had considered not going but I’m glad I did. This temple is much later than others, dating from just a couple of hundred years BC. The depiction of medicine and surgical implements was something we hadn’t seen elsewhere.
This eye hieroglyph is the origin of the symbol “Rx” that we still use on prescriptions today.
The priests also used to have a sacred crocodile, and whenever one died it was mummified, and replaced with a new one. You can see a whole bunch in the adjacent museum.
In later eras, people carved little handles in the rock to tie their horses and camels to.
One of our small group fainted on the way back to the ship, no surprises there!