DAY 16 - GOING WITH THE WIND
SYNOPSIS: Another day on the feluka and a visit of Kom Ombo, a Ptolomaic temple and an introduction of my feluka mates.
The night was silent, except for Aubrey’s snoring and an occasional splash of water hitting the boat. But at 4 AM the call for prayer echoed from at least four different mosques followed by an hour of prayers. The water seemed to bounce the sounds back and the effect was deafening. But 5 AM things quieted down and by 6 AM the horizon was orange in anticipation of the rising sun. Contrary to our fears we were warm, in fact too warm, beneath the three blankets, wearing three to four layers of clothing. By 7 AM I could smell the smell of cigarettes... Otherwise, we woke up to a gorgeous morning. No wind. The Nile was silent and flat like a mirror.
Morning activities on the ship began: Taking down the protective canvas, cleaning the main deck, preparing breakfast. I am traveling with Kasper and Aubrey, and I think it’s time you get to know them a bit. When I first had the idea of cruising up the Nile in a feluka, I realized that without travel companion the trip would be expensive and simply inappropriate. Traveling as a single woman with three unrelated guys in a feluka is culturally speaking out of the question. So I recruited travel companions. I found two.
Aubrey is from Great Britain, but has not lived there in over 20 years. He is an elementary school teacher and has spent years in Columbia, Hong Kong, India, and elsewhere, teaching. Whenever he has enough, he moves on to a different place. For the last year, he has traveled the African continent. His trip is coming to an end soon and he has not yet decided where to settle next: Central America perhaps or Asia where he will look for a teaching contract again. He smokes way too much (all sorts of things…) and looks like a mountain man with a weathered face that makes him look at least ten years older than he actually is: 44. He is a nice person to have on the ship, laid back and easy going. Within five minutes of talking to him on the streets of Aswan he was up for the trip.
When I headed to the Noble Tombs in Aswan, I ran into a young guy named Kasper from Minnesota. We sat down for a chat and again, within five minutes he was ready to join us on the feluka. I mentioned it before, but here is his story again. It is interesting. After fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq he returned home pretty “damaged” as he put it with traumatic brain injuries that affected his short term memory among other things. He went to school to become a massage therapist and has been in business for himself for a few years now. He started on a spiritual path and had a vision a year ago that he was supposed to be in Egypt this year. So, here he is on a vision quest, I guess. He is one of the few tourists who did not leave when the trouble started in Egypt. He waited it out in Alexandria with a friend and started traveling as soon as transportation was available again. He is 27.
Both Aubrey and Kasper have worked out really well on this trip. They are interesting, yet not overbearing. We got along fabulously and I am lucky I found them.
Today the wind had turned and we were actually floating with our sails tied up with the wind and with the current making good progress; just like ancient Egyptian frescoes depict it. It is so peaceful on the Nile especially since it is void of any of the large cruisers which usually are going up and down the Nile by the dozens. The landing spot where we docked tonight – a nice and sandy beach – usually has up to 12 felukas stationed overnight with up to 12 people each plus their crew trios. We could not even fathom this having the whole beach to ourselves. We enjoy the quietude. We are told that often the tourists play soccer here and party until late into the night. Not us. We played dominos and card games and tugged in by 10 PM. Even though we really did nothing all day long but sit around, we were exhausted. It probably has to do with being outdoors and in the sun all day.
Our destination was Kom Ombo. We docked near the temple this afternoon to see one of the most unique if not one of the most ancient temples in Egypt. It is dedicated to two deities instead of the usual one which makes for an interesting layout: Two hypostyle courts, two sanctuaries, two barge pedestals side by side are laid out completely symmetrically. A huge mud-brick wall encloses the entire temple which is situated on a hill overlooking the Nile. There were some very fine relief carvings next to some very sloppy ones. I guess somebody ran out of time and money. The town nearby held a camel market today and we could not hold back and had to buy a pound of camel meat which was prepared for us that very moment. Camel meat is the poor people’s beef in Egypt. We missed the actual market – they were done by the time we got there in the early afternoon. But some young boys took us into their house and showed us all the camels they have – for a bakshish, of course.
And so does the second and final day of our Nile-feluka adventure wind down. Tomorrow I will head out to Edfu with both Kasper and Aubrey, but there we will part ways. I am still overwhelmed by the fact that due to the circumstances in which we are, we once again had the entire temple of Kom Ombo to ourselves. The Nile is “ours” and I cannot wait to see Karnak and Luxor void of tourists. What a unique opportunity.
But the flip side of this coin is that for example, our feluka crew has not had work in over a month. We are the first guests on their boat. And for the lack of other passengers, we had to pay the price for a full boat. For their lives this upheaval is devastating. Interestingly enough, I did not sense any enthusiasm for the revolutionary changes among them. They are not politically active and much more concerned about what is on the table on a daily basis. This is quite different from Mustafa at Baba Dool’s whose cousins had traveled to Tahrir Square setting up an Aswan tent. Mustafa was prepared to go himself should the protests have continued indefinitely. And since the protesters vowed to stay until a time line is established and since actions have been taken, he might still go some day. Every day he was full of news. He was engaged and concerned and willing to actively participate. What made him care and what makes our young feluka guys care so little, I don’t know.
Good night – that is under a starry sky, floating on the Nile… :-)