RonnieAdventures: RonnieAdventure #0572

Since we were running a little late, I kept reminding our van driver that we had a boat to catch in Aswan and I did not want the boat to leave without us. After all, Heather is famous among the Nile boat operators and guides for being one of the few tourist to ever miss the boat connection time (on a previous visit) and the boat left without her. Fortunately, cars go faster than boats and she was able to catch the boat at the first stop.

Even though I was a little worried, we made it to the boat with 20 minutes to spare. Heather's response was that I did not have to be so worried, we could have shopped for another 19 minutes.

As the riverboat left dock and pulled into the river, I was amazed that we missed all of the other boat traffic. Once away from Aswan, the river traffic thinned; so I stayed on the observation deck all of the way to Kom Ombo because I did not want to miss anything.

Shortly after leaving Aswan, we crossed under the Aswan Bridge that spans the Nile River.

Picture by Kolohe

Picture by Heather

Picture by Kolohe

Along the way I saw a number of tug boats that were pulling small passenger boats. When I asked "Rocky" why so many passenger boats were having problems and had to be pulled, he explained that the passenger boats were not having problems - they did not have engines! He said that people rent the passenger boats for family outings, conventions and other occasions, and the tug boat just pulls the passenger boat wherever they want to go. The passenger boat comes fully equipped with all of the services found on the larger river boats - captain, crew, fine dining, entertainment, and anything else that renters want to pay for and bring along.

Picture by Kolohe

We arrived at the Temple of Kom Ombo just as the sun was setting.

Kom Ombo was an important site because this is one of the places where the trade routes to the Nile Valley, the Red Sea, and Nubia villages converged. The temple at Kom Ombo is unusual in that it is dedicated to two different gods - Sobek and Haroeris. Sobek was depicted as a crocodile-headed man and Haroeris was represented as a falcon-headed man.

It is believed that Kom Ombo may have been a healing center because on a flat table rock found in the temple there are carvings of surgical instruments, including forceps, scales, a stethoscope, and even a sponge. The goddess Isis is also shown on a birthing chair. A calendar is carved on one wall and shows the dates of the Nile River flooding season.

On the north side of the complex is a large 50-foot-deep well that is connected to a series of basins. We were not allowed to walk down the stairs to the water level.

My tour book said that Kom Ombo was such an important site that it is always included on the itinerary of Nile River cruises.

Picture by Kolohe

When people prayed at Kom Ombo, they would often leave mummified crocodiles as offerings or stone slabs called "stelaes" that were decorated with their names and prayers to the gods.

There is an on-site museum that contains mummified crocodiles, stelaes, and other artifacts that were found in the temple.