The guardians did not seem keen for my to continue southwards along the corniche, but I set off anyway and 5 of them followed. Soon they were pointing out painted ceilings, anchorages, etc. Thus the final pictures are of various other shrines, stelae and a double tomb, as well as quarry workings, working mainly southwards.
It would probably have made more sense to visit Silsila with a group so as to split the cost. It is nearly 3 hours each way from Luxor. Having taken the West Bank Agricultural Road on the way down, calling at Kula q.v., we returned to Luxor using the Western Desert Road. It added a few kilometers to the journey, but misses nearly all the speed bumps, potholes, police checkpoints, villages, markets, etc., and is virtually traffic-free. The Temple of Horemheb itself is about 6km south of the link road up the Wadi from el-Hoh. Some signposts would help, as even the villagers at Fars were ignorant of its existence. Tayeb normally takes the east bank route between Edfu and Kom Ombo, crossing the Nile by ferry at Silsila, so this bit of Egypt was new to him. Being the first visitor for 3 months (I don't always believe such stories as the guardians are usually trying to talk up the backsheesh) I was accompanied by as many as six guardians, all competing for my attention. I soon exhausted my stock of small bank-notes. The slide-show shows the approach to the temple. Entering, I first photographed the holy-of-holies, starting at the north jamb of the door. This sequence ends with the inside of the entry wall, with a guardian in the doorway. I then photographed the entrance lobby, again starting at the north. Outside I photographed the front, once more from the north. The guardians did not seem keen for my to continue southwards along the corniche, but I set off anyway and 5 of them followed. Soon they were pointing out painted ceilings, anchorages, etc. Thus the final pictures are of various other shrines, stelae and a double tomb, as well as quarry workings, working mainly southwards.
5 Comments
Angela
7/1/2012 11:23:01
For once they were probably telling you the truth. Ordinary tourists don't go across and most of the boats sail past too. We went from Aswan. It was bitterly cold on the river crossing, which was about an hour, the coldest I've ever known it in Egypt. I love the villages and so on but we did the same from Hierakonpolis, up one side, down the other.
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Brian Yare
8/1/2012 01:57:44
I don't understand how the river crossing could be about an hour, except by felucca on a calm day. The river is very narrow here. There used to be a car ferry a few miles to the south, I don't know if that still runs?
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Angela
7/1/2012 11:24:22
Just a separate note, I'm having trouble with the drop-down menu. It's decided not to drop down to your and my blogs.
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Brian Yare
8/1/2012 01:50:38
I removed the drop down menu because I decided it didn't look very good - the colours were too pale. When I have time I will look at the colour scheme and see if I can improve it. Until then you'll need an extra mouse-click. Sorry
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