There were two young puppies who decided to seek shade next to the Ramesside Barque Station. Pictures below.
Helen was quite surprised at how much lower the temple site is than the surrounding modern settlement. This modern settlement has fortunately not encroached onto the temple site, and there were several staff on site to maintain security. We did not see any other visitors there, but this could be for several reasons - the site is reached over a very rough road, tickets are not available on site, and it is only on very specialised itineraries.
We then continued to Esna. This temple, like that at Tod, stands some 20 feet below modern street level. It was much busier than on my only previous visit in 2009 - at least one cruise boat with maybe 100 Germans had beaten us to the site, but the rushed round and then we got some peace and quiet. The hassle in the souk was annoying - and unavoidable as this is the only way from the ticket office to the temple.. I will not do business with shopkeepers who do not understand the meaning of "no". I saw some shirts that were probably my size, but the locals lost a possible sale by their persistence. Helen managed to negotiate a couple of purchases, but took about 30 minutes, while I waited in the car.
After Esna we headed towards Gebelein on the west bank road. While asking for directions Tayeeb was told of a Pharaonic palace on the banks of the Nile. After following the directions and asking several other locals, we ended up at one of King Farouk's palaces - someone somewhere had made a mistake!
At Gebelein we were told by a guardian that we could not visit without a signed permit from the inspector. But I was quite relieved as we had been on the go without a rest-break for nearly 6 hours - the temperature reaching about 32°C. So we proceded to the hotel and I am blogging over a cold Stella.