We are on a shore excursion this morning at 7am to beat the heat, departing the ship in a tender for the 10 minute ride to the Wadi el Seboua (Valley of the Lions) temple so called because of the sphinx-lined approach to the temple forecourts. There doesn't seem to be any sign on life jackets in the tender but they are safely hidden in a stowaway container in the stern so we breathe a bit easier.

Accompanying us is an obligatory security officer, this time not at all trying to hide the uzzi machine gun he carries in his hand. The wind is pleasantly cool and the sky is cloudless hinting that the day will be another unseasonally hot one. The desert sand is a sharp contrast to the blueish water of Lake Nasser. This temple too was dismantled in 1964 and moved to its current site only 4km west of its original location. Tarek is sure the camel-man will be here with his 15 camels in case people don't want to walk up the hill through the sand to the temple......$5 will buy a ride but sadly the camel man is nowhere to be seen, probably not enough tourists to make it worthwhile for him. Anyway the walk is welcome in the morning coolness and breeze. We have seen much better preserved temples than this one in which most of the carvings have been partially or completely destroyed, but Tarek still points out all the figures to us - don't know how he remembers all their names and stories, but then again, he did study history and Egyptology for 4 years.

Going back to the ship in the tender, we are joined by a couple of other passengers as well as another security guard with an even bigger uzzi tucked under his arm like a baguette. We feel very safe!

The rest of the day is free time which is wonderful as I think most of us are "templed out" by now. We enjoy the ship's facilities and relax for the rest of the day as we cruise back to Aswan - a nine hour trip. Lake Nasser is over 500 km long and the ships which sail on it (about 7 in total) were all built in Aswan.

This evening after a yummy Egyptian buffet there is a Nubian dance and music show not unlike what we saw on the Mayfair but the dancers are very much more talented. Such a pity that there are only 32 in the audience but at least we all get a good view. Once again we dress up in our best Egyptian finery - at least I get to wear my galabao twice. Brad doesn't have his "Yasser Arafat tea towel" this time so as a joke he wears a pretty head scarf which I bought as a gift and which causes much laughter amongst the guests as well as the Nubian dancers. This is our last night on the Omar El Khayan and we will be sorry to say goodbye to this lovely ship.