Saturday, October 21, 2023
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| Sunrise over the Nile |
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View from our stateroom of the new minaret
of Al Amari Mosque |
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| "Village" of Esna |
Our included shore excursion was a walk across the street to the market.
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| Entrance to the suq/market |
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| It was not really for pedestrians only, but it was shaded! |
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| Esna seems to be known for pottery |
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| Alabaster (KSS) |
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| Dresses, blouses and scarves |
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A tailor stitching a galabeya/robe that
is the traditional dress in rural Egypt |
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The old Al Amari minaret (1082 CE) from
the Fatimid era, is leaning (KSS) |
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| Falafel vendor |
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| Folks having their falafel breakfast |
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Temple of Khnum (180-45 BCE, completed by
the Romans 40-250 CE) for the ram-headed
creator god who as a potter fashioned humankind |
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| Creator of signature stamps |
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| Our guard in Esna |
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| The galabeya ironer takes a mouthful of water ... (KSS) |
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| ... that he sprays over the fabric to dampen it; (KSS) |
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| He uses his foot to move the fire-heated iron |
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Smoking a shisha/hookah filled with
tobacco and molasses, which is not
any healthier just because the smoke
is drawn through water |
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Bread-man who was supposed to have bread for those
with subsidy ration cards that get a maximum of
five loaves per day for a quarter of a pound/25 piastres;
he then tried to sell one loaf to us for one dollar,
which at the time equaled 32 Egyptian pounds! |
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Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary
is a Coptic Orthodox Church |
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Mud-brick houses with ram horns over
the doors seem to indicate a follower
of the ram-headed god Khnum |
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| Double ram horns! |
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Esna graffiti? Actually, the resident had made his hajj and
the mural describes his pilgrimage to Mecca (KSS) |
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| We were followed by a group of children |
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| Woven baskets |
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Wekalat Al Gedawi (1792) was a Ottoman-era caravanserai/
commercial center for travelers; Esna was a stop on the
camel-caravan route between Cairo and Sudan |
We had free time to shop, but Kent and I went to check out a couple more landmarks in Esna. As soon as we left the market, we were harassed by a tuk-tuk driver who wanted us to use his services. We tried to cross the street to get away from him, but he made a U-turn and continued to follow us.
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I crossed the street again to get a photo of
the Sheikh Hashem Mosque, but, with
whom is Kent talking?! |
Well, a police officer with a shotgun apparently got rid of the tuk-tuk driver, and another man stopped to try to translate. Despite not speaking English, the police officer led us through back alleys to:
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The Church of the Martyr Mother Dolagy
and her Four Sons was built in honor of
the woman who is considered the patron
saint of Esna, as she and her four sons
were killed by the Roman governor for
refusing to worship Roman gods |
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We entered the church, which was empty except for
an iconostasis (the screen separating the nave
from the sanctuary), a place for the bishop's seat,
and an altar beyond an open door |
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We heard a jingling of keys and a man came in,
waving to us to follow him downstairs where he
unlocked the door to the functioning church |
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There is still the bishop's seat and iconostasis,
but now also a lectern and pews |
We tipped the church attendant who let us out through another door he unlocked. The police officer was waiting for us, and escorted us back to the main road.
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| Another view of Sheikh Hashem Mosque |
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Trying to avoid the tuk-tuk driver, we totally missed
the post office on the way; now we stopped to
purchase stamps for two postcards |
The police officer was waiting when we had made our purchase, and escorted us back to the Viking Aton! (He would not accept a tip!)
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Our guide noticed us taking photos, and pointed out
the stones of an ancient marina or dock |
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| See?! It really is an archaeological site |
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| Another modern cruise ship |
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Bubalus bubalis/Water Buffalo were seen
as we cruised upstream/south toward Aswan (KSS) |
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| Banks of the Nile (KSS) |
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Lunch Falafel Bowl with mesclun, tomatoes, parsley,
roasted eggplant, hummus, and yogurt sauce (KSS) |
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| Lunch dessert: Carrot Cake |
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| A demonstration on making Ta'amiyya/Egyptian falafel |
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| These are the ingredients, plus soaked dried fava beans |
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| The finished product, rolled in sesame seeds |
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| A beach on the Nile? (KSS) |
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The Selsela Mountains was the area quarried from
c 1569 BCE to the Roman period, for sandstone
to build the the Karnak and Luxor temples, as well
as structures on the West Bank of Luxor (KSS) |
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The area has many small rock-cut temples, many
dedicated to Sobek/crocodile god who controlled the waters;
was that balanced rock part of a crocodile sculpture?! |
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Wheelhouse tour; local captains are indispensable for
knowing the river, as it can have rocky areas underwater |
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| Arabian Night for Dinner: A variety of breads |
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Meze/appetizers, clockwise from left, Egyptian cream cheese,
tahini, baba ganoush, Salata Baladi/salad with
tomatoes and cucumber, hummus, and red cabbage
salad (an Egytian cole slaw but with apples and walnuts) |
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Sayadieh/fish (I think perch) in tomato sauce,
and kofta/Egyptian meatballs |
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| Chicken kebabs, lamb chops, and falafel on rice |
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Evening entertainment: Nubian band with a singer,
riq/large tambourine player, and darbuka drummer |
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| The Nubian dancers put on quite a show |
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They had crowd participation with a sort of follow-the-leader
conga line, and then a hilarious act getting some of our fellow
passengers to imitate nonsense syllables as if in serious
dialog, sometimes earthy and sometimes chirpy |
Next: Aswan High Dam.
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