I seem to have lost the ability to sleep in with all the crazy early morning wake up calls we seem to get. Not only do the reception people ring us to wake us up but we seem to be also staying next to Mosques and mosques in Egypt all start the day with VERY LOUD calls to prayer before dawn. My tour guide tells me that in the old days it was a more pleasant experience when a man with a tuneful voice would sing the wake up call but in these modern days it is blasted our over loud speakers, so loud that even he has problems understanding what is being said. That said it is worth waking up early as we get to the sites ahead of most tourists. At the moment we are focusing on the truly ancient history with lots of stories about gods and pharaohs. This is the high seasons in Egypt because it is 'cooler' so we spend the morning running around temples and sacred sites and the afternoon relaxing on the boat or shopping. Some places are incredibly busy and I am beginning to see why 'locals' don't like tourist. They can be rude and a little bit pushy!
Key temple that we saw on Day 5 of the trip were Edfu and Komombo. Edfu is a temple deddicated to the falcon header god Horus. I was so impressed by this temple and the many representations of Horus that Kiwi has been named after him. Komombo is dedicated to the crocodile headed god Sobek. At this site a large number of mummifed crocodile were found - apparently the Romans used to practice on them but never really mastered the art.
I am the only kiwi on this tour and am surround by Aussie but it is fair to say that I have made quite an impression on them (good or bad I am not sure but everybody seem to learn my name first) I am subject to teasing on a daily basis but it is all part of the fun! I know they are just jealous! (even if the All black did loss the last game of the season!)
I will try and up load a short video clip of photos soon!