Driving from Sohag in Egypt to Wadi Halfa in the Sudan arriving on 4th April 2004 and a day by the Nile

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From Sohag, off to Qena a provincial capital which is most famous for its proximity to the ruins of Dendara. It owes its modern prosperity to the opening of the Wadi Qena towards the Red Sea, which is a major traffic route between Upper Egypt and the Red Sea. 

Qena also has a considerable Islamic heritage and a famous Mosque.  The Maghrebi Abd el-Rahim settled in Qena upon his return from Mecca and founded a Sufi center.  Upon his death in 1195, the mosque was built above his tomb and became a place of pilgrimage. 

On to Luxor, which has often been called the worlds greatest open air museum, as indeed it is and much more. The number and quality of the monuments in the Luxor area are unparalleled anywhere else in the world. 

To say that the Luxor area is a major attraction for tourists in Egypt would be an understatement.  It has been a tourist destination since the beginning of tourism.  Even in ancient times, during the late Dynasties of the Greek and Roman periods, the area drew tourists, and has been doing so ever since. 

Luxor today is a city of some 150,000 people, government and other buildings confirm to an 'ancient' building code.  Particularly, the National bank of Egypt (located near the winter palace), the spa south of the police station, and the railway station are all designed to appear as pharaonic constructs. 

Kom Ombo

Located in the town of Kom-Ombo, about 28 miles north of Aswan, the Temple, dating to the Ptolemies, is built on a high dune overlooking the Nile. The actual temple was started by Ptolemy VI Philometor in the early second century BC.  Ptolemy XIII built the outer and inner hypostyle halls. The outer enclosure wall and part of the court were built by Augustus sometime after 30 BC, and are mostly gone.  There are also tombs from the Old Kingdom in the vicinity of Kom-Ombo village.

The Temple known as Kom Ombo is actually two temples consisting of a Temple to Sobek and a Temple of Haroeris.  In ancient times, sacred crocodiles basked in the sun on the river bank near here. The Temple has scant remains, due first to the changing Nile, then the Copts who once used it as a church, and finally by builders who used the stones for new buildings.

Everything is duplicated along the main axis.  There are two entrances, two courts, two colonades, two hypostyle halls and two sanctuaries.  There were probably even two sets of priests. The left, or northern side is dedicated to Haroeris (sometimes called Harer, Horus the Elder) who was the falcon headed sky god and the right to Sobek (the corcodile headed god).  The two gods are accompanied by their families.  They include Haroeris'  wife named Tesentnefert, meaning the good sister and his son, Panebtawy.  Sobeck likewise is accompanied by his consort, Hathor and son, Khonsu.

Aswan

Aswan, Egypt's sunniest southern city and ancient frontier town located about 81 miles south of Luxor, has a distinctively African atmosphere. Its ancient Egyptian name was Syene.  Small enough to walk around and graced with the most beautiful setting on the Nile, the pace of life is slow and relaxing.

In Aswan the Nile is at its most beautiful, flowing through amber desert and granite rocks, round emerald islands covered in palm groves and tropical plants.

The city proper lies on the east bank of the Nile. On the opposite shore (west bank), the cliffs are surmounted by the tomb of a marabut, Qubbet el-Hawwa, who was a local saint.  Below are tombs of the local (pharaonic) nobles and dignitaries.

Just up river a bit, there is also the old Aswan dam, built by the British, which was enlarged, expanded, but unable to control the Nile for irrigation.

Wadi Halfa on Lake Nasser.

Wadi Halfa is the northernmost town in Sudan, which is the largest country in Africa. It is the terminus of a railroad from Khartoum and is the point at which cotton, wheat, livestock, and other goods are transferred to steamers going down the Nile into Egypt. Archaeological expeditions have worked to excavate and preserve the area’s numerous Egyptian antiquities, which faced flooding from the reservoir of the Aswan High Dam. Founded in the 19th cent., Wadi Halfa became (1885–98) the headquarters of the Anglo-Egyptian army as it prepared to reconquer Sudanese territory from the Mahdi. The railroad up the Nile to Wadi Halfa was built to support Lord Kitchener’s forces during the reconquest. During World War II, the town served as a staging post on the Allied communication line with Egypt via central Africa.

We left on 6th April for Atbara 600km