Monday 3 September 2018
The best way to describe the train journey was ‘interesting’. We each had a sleeper cabin which could have done with a good clean. The food was okay but nothing to write home about. The scenery along the way south finally showed some green and we had vistas of plantations of all types of fruit and produce. The train journey served its purpose and we had made it to Aswan. We were taken by small ferry to the island of Philae upon which the Temple of Isis had been moved to when the Aswan dam was being built in the 1970s. To think of the work involved in that process was amazing but that paled into nothing compared with the Temple structure itself. Our wonderful guide gave a fascinating talk about the history and theology of the temple. I suppose we would have taken more in if not for the fact that it was midday and the temperature was in the high 40’s with little shade to be seen.
We made our way in the afternoon to our ship for the next three days on the Nile the MS Alyssa. After an interesting night visit to the Aswan Souq (market) we retired for the night knowing that we needed to be on the road by 3.30am the next day for our trip down to Abu Simmel.
J on the sleeper train
Temple of Isis – it isn’t hard to imagine that it is 47degrees!
J at the Temple of Isis
Inside Temple – King (with the double crown – both Kingdoms – Upper and Lower – one looks like a champagne bottle and the other crown looks like a ladle) offering a gift to the God Isis – seated figure with circle on head with a pair of horns around the circle.
Father Shane's Observations and Travels 