If you’ve been keeping track, we’ve visited 10 temples so far, and after docking in Qena, we visited our final temple of the journey. This temple, dedicated to the God Hathor, would have been right next to the Nile during ancient times, but today the Nile has receded in this area. Despite, you could see the fabulous approach that there would have been from the Nile to the ornate temple. While there is evidence of structures on this site dating to 2300BC, the largest temple was built around 350BC. Hathor Temple is unique in that it has some reliefs that are bright and brilliant, original, not restored. The only treatment is a highly technical cleaning process, completed by some French scientists. The other unique thing about this temple is that it has the first documented drainage system for rainwater off of the roof, exiting the water through sculptures. Are these the first gargoyles? The final unique attribute of Temple of Hathor is that it has a very detailed Zodiac sign, found on the upper floor. While the original relief was taken by the French in 1882, and it can be seen in the Louvre, what we saw was a plaster cast of the original.

In the afternoon, we returned to Luxor with more scenic cruising. We had a great time up on the top deck, watching the beautiful Egyptian countryside go by. Children were waving and calling from the shore. As the sun was setting, we could hear the call to prayers echoing from all of the mosque’s minarets. We spent a bit of time packing and settling accounts as we depart the ship tomorrow at 6am.

The ship’s crew created a lively and joyful farewell party and dinner for us. I’m always amazed at how we get so attached to crew members…even if we’ve only been with them for 7 days. The AmaDahlia crew have been kind, attentive and gracious and we could not have asked for a better sailing. We are grateful to them.

Tomorrow: Flight to Cairo and Abdeen Palace