On May 20 at 3:10 p.m. we left Vienna for Luxor with a delay of 50 minutes. As soon as we landed in Luxor at around 8:30 p.m. we started feeling the Egyptian heat - around 35 degrees. But by that time we didn't know that it would get hotter... burning hot...
Our ship "Magic Life Regent" is a 73m long and 14m wide 5-star ship with 84 cabins, a restaurant, a lounge bar, a sun deck with a swimming pool, etc.

We had dinner and a drink in the Lounge Bar before we headed to our room and fell into a good-nights-sleep.

Wake-up call at 6 a.m.

Our first trip brought us to Karnak Temple and Luxor Temple, both located in Luxor.
Karnak Temple: the most outstanding part of the monument area at Karnak is the avenue of ram-headed sphinxes, which leads to the first entrance to the temple dedictated to honour Amon-Ra, his consort Mut and their son Khonsu. Karnak Temple is home to the largest Hypostyle Hall with 134 columns representing the papyrus flower.
NB: Amon: usually associated with the wind, or things hidden, and was also of the Hermopolitian Ogdoad. At Thebes he became Amon-Ra, king of the gods. He was part of the Theban Triad, along with Mut and Khonsu.
Luxor Temple: The temple of Luxor was built in 390 B.C. by Amenophis III. It is reached by the Avenue of the Sphinxes through the great Pylon.

Afterwards we left Luxor and went up the Nile towards Edfu.

In the late afternoon we took part on a guided tour around our ship, while in the evening the management of the ship presented themselves to us, the passengers.

We spent the night in Edfu.

Wake-up call at 6:45 a.m.

First we took a horse carriage to the well-preserved Horus Temple in Edfu, which is the best preserved temple of antique Egypt. The temple was built in the Ptolemaic period and was dedicated to the God Horus. The hawks of Horus guard the gate of the Pylon and thr walls are covered with elegant bas-reliefs depicting religious and mythological events.
NB: Horus: the earliest royal god was the shape of a falcon, with the sun and moon as his eyes. The sky-god was the ruler of the day. The many forms of Horus are; Ra-Harakhti, Harsiesis, Haroeris, Harendotes, Khenti-irti, Khentekhtay (the crocodile-god), and Harmakhis, which is Horus on the horizons, in which the Sphinx of Giza is considered to be his aspect.

In the late morning we left for Kom Ombo. During this trip we had lunch.

The second excursion of the day brought us to the Sobek and Haroeris Temple in Kom Ombo. The temple of Kom Ombo was also built in the Ptolemaic period on the remains of a sanctuary of the time of Thutmose.
NB: Sobek: he was a crocodile god and was worshipped at the Faiyum and Ombos. During the middle Kingdom he coalesced with Ra, Sobek-Ra, and was worshipped as primordial deity and creator-god. Haroeris: one form of Horus (see above).

Following this tour we travelled on to Aswan.
NB: Aswan, at the gates of Nubia, is the ancient Syena. It is situated where the Valley of the Nile narrows and leaves no space for cultivation. High walls in form of dunes flank the river and the green fringe along the banks makes a strong contrast to the golden yellow of the sand.

In the evening a Nubian Night was organised by the crew - lots of dancing and a insight into Nubian traditions.

We spent the night in Aswan.

Wake-up call at 6:00 a.m.

We drove by bus first to the Aswan High Dam. The great dam, called the Sadd el Ali, is 3.6km long and 111m high.
After that we visited the Granite Querries and The Unfinished Obelisk in Aswan.
We carried on by bus and boat to the Agilika Island to visit the Philae Temple of Isis.
NB: Isis: the mother of Horus and sister and consort of Osiris was worshipped at Philae. Associated with Astarte, Hathor, Nut and Sothis, she was later worshipped over the entire Roman Empire.
We ended our extensive morning excursion in a perfumery, where we could buy essences and blends of flowers, as well as spice scents.

We returned back to the ship, where we had lunch.

In the afternoon we took part in a facultative trip to a traditional Nubian Village. The Nubian people are a minority in Egypt, who settled down in the borderland to the Sudan and have their own language (but no written language) and traditions.

In the evening Oli and I skipped the program that was again organised by the crew and visited instead the lively and colourful bazaar in Aswan, which is supposed to be the most picturesque in Egypt. Had lots of fun bargaining and shopping.

We spent the night again in Aswan.

Wake-up call at 3:15 a.m.

The morning (till noon) was dedicated to the facultative trip to Abu Simbel. You can reach Abu Simbel either by bus or by plane. We voted for the bus: firstly because it is much cheaper and secondly, the journey down to Abu Simbel leads through the desert, which is an adventure itself.
The rock temple of Ramses II is among the grandest monuments of Egypt. It is located on the west bank of the Nile in southern Egypt, in a desert area 270km south of Aswan.

Filled with great memories, we headed back to the ship, where we had lunch.

In the afternoon we sailed with a felucca (sail boat) to Kitchener Island in order to visit the Botanical Garden there - a green oasis in the middle of the Nile.

This evening was themed "Galabea". The crew and most of the passengers wore the traditional Egyptian clothes, the Galabea.
Later in the evening we again visited the bazaar in Aswan :-)

Once again we spent the night in Aswan.

No wake-up call!

Temperature constantly rising.

In the early morning, while we were still asleep, we left Aswan for Esna. The whole morning we enjoyed the sweet idleness on the sundeck, observed the passing-by landscape, playing Boccia, etc.

In between the relaxing and idleness, we filled our stomaches with a splendid lunch.

At around 2 p.m. we arrived in Esna to visit the Khnum Temple. This temple dedicated to Khnum once stood near the village of Esna, but only the hypostyle hall remains today.
NB: Khnum: resembling a human with a rams head, he was worshipped in Hypselis, Esna, Antinoe and Elephantine.

After our return we left for Luxor, where we passed the Lock of Esna. While waiting to pass the lock, our ship got surrounded by hawkers in fisherboats, trying to sell us their stuff (towels, galabeas, scarfs, etc.). How does this work? Well, the hawkers throw their goods (whatever they think you might need/want) up to the sundeck, where you can have a look at it. If you like it, you throw the money down (preferably wrapped into plastic); if you don't like it, you throw back the goods. It's really a fascinating spectacle :-)

In the afternoon our tour guide informed us on today's Egypt and its people.

The evening was again a motto-evening, this time Candle Light Dinner. Very romantic...

We spent the night in Luxor.

Wake-up call at 5:00 a.m.

Temperature around 51 degrees (!!!) in the shade.

We spent the morning in Thebes West, where our fist stop was the Valley of the Queens. After visiting one tomb, we drove on to the world-famous Valley of the Kings, where we visited the tombs of Ramses I, III and VI. In order to gain some strength in between the sightseeing, we visited an Alabaster factory. After that we drove on to Hatshepsut Temple, which is located in the majestic, natural circus of Deir El-Bahari. We completed our morning trip at the Memnon Colossi.

Back on the ship, we enjoyed the lunch a lot - after such an exhausting (mainly because of the heat) tour.

We spent the afternoon on the ship relaxing, playing games and sleeping - and we really deserved this relaxation!

In the evening another attraction was organized to entertain the guests - a Belly Dancer and a Dervish presented their skills.

We spent our last night in Luxor.

Last day... check-out at 9 a.m.

Again damn-hot - 52 degrees!

What to do in such a heat? Well, spending the whole day more or less on the sundeck :-) but we also pulled ourselves together to go for a short shopping tour to the Luxor bazaar.

It was time to say goodbye to the Magic Life Regent, which was our home over the last week, when we got picked up at 3:45 p.m.

We left Luxor via Hurghada to Vienna (6:20 p.m. to 11:05 p.m.).