This morning we are going for the horse and carriage ride to the temple of Edfu ........and back ...... hopefully. This is included in our tour but of course there is always the tip to Mustafa or Abdullah, which we find out is 20 Egyptian pounds ($3 approx). It has all been arranged by our wonderful guide Tarek and we are to be in carriage #30 but of course in Egypt not everything is as it seems. Due of the downturn in tourist numbers, huge numbers of horse & carriage drivers turn up to greet our boat which has just 35 passengers. They start "discussing" with Tarek why it he should choose them. It sounds more like an argument than a discussion but that is the nature of Arabic - the simplest sentence sounds more like a agressive argument. Some even start a few fisticuffs with each other to get our custom. Eventually Tarek has them sorted out and we climb aboard #30 with Abdulla and Mustafa. Our horse is named Monica! It is a wonderful way to travel through the streets of Edfu which are designed more for horses than cars and horses definitely have the right of way. During the 10 min ride to Edfu we watch some wonderful daily life scenes unfold before us. The horses are "garaged" in a huge compound at the temple parking lot and we alight to more sellers who accost us as we make our way to the temple. No eye contact is the best ploy. The temple is the 2nd largest in Egypt after Karnak and one of the best preserved. It is dedicated to the falcon god Horus, and was built between 237 and 57 BC. Its amazing inscriptions and scenes are related to the age-old conflict between Horus and Seth. Tarek brings to life one of the stories from that time and we all listen spellbound like little children.

When it is time to go, we head back to the garage and find Abdulla (Mustafa is gone) and Monica for our journey back to the ship. On the way he tells us in very broken English that Monica is "no Ferrari, she with baby" which seems to explain why she is going so slowly even though he gives her the occasional crack with the whip. Strange that on the way out, she was one of the fastest! Brad hands him the obligatoy 20 pounds tip but of course he wants more for Monica & her baby. Ha! They will try anything. When we talk to some of our fellow tour group members, we find out that their driver and horse are named Abdulla & Monica too! But only ours was pregnant.

Anchors aweigh once we return to the ship and our journey continues on towards Kom Ombo which is an agricultural town in Egypt famous for the Temple of Kom Ombo. Its location on the Nile 50km north of Aswan gave it some control over trade routes from Nubia to the Nile Valley, but its main rise to prominence came with the erection of the temple in the 2nd century BC. As we sail along the Nile, we have free time to enjoy the scenery and the comforts of the ship. Some use the the tiny pool on the top deck, others laze in the sun or catch up with emails etc. On that subject, the internet has been very spasmodic on board this ship (hence the lack of uploaded pics) but from Friday, we will have no access at all while we sail on Lake Nasser on a different ship.... not until we return to Cairo next Monday.

After our visit to the temple of Kom Ombo which is dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek as well as the falcon god Haroeris, our ship leaves Kom Ombo for Aswan which will take a few hours. We have an Egyptian dinner tonight buffet style which allows us to sample some local delicacies. Most of us are a bit wary of salads even though Tarek has assured us that all salad items are washed in bottled water on board the ship. There is so much else to sample, we don't really miss the salads. After dinner is a galabia party for which most of the ladies and some of the men have preparing. The ship's shop does a roaring trade as we search for the perfect galabia with the perfect price. Getting a small size seems to be a problem for me and the shop keeper swears he will find something for me in his "cousin's" shop in time for the big event which starts at 7pm. Finally at 6.15pm he re-appears with 2 galabias for me to try on and make a selection. I choose a pretty royal blue beaded and sequined number for which I bargain the price down to EP180 ($30) for my inconvenience. I will probably never wear it again but hiring a costume for a fancy dress party costs more than that! With the addition of a lacy scarf I brought from home, I'm all dolled up in my attire and Brad looks just like Brad, so when we pass by the shop on the way to the party, the shop keeper spots Brad and offers to lend him a Yasser Arafat type "teatowel" and head band. Now he looks the part! Lots of Egyptian games, music and dancing complete a fun night.

We arrive inAswan at 10pm