Firstly, I have to ask, "Don't you think that the vegan housewife should have waited in, when she knew that the Waitrose delivery was due?"
You'll recall, of course, that we spent our first couple of nights at the Winter Palace Pavilion while we rectified the desertification of our Luxor home? Well, here's a shot of the exquisite Winter Palace gardens (taken at night obviously!) from our 3rd floor balcony. I love to see the palms, wherever I am in Egypt.
Being a bit pushed for time when we eventually got home, we had Mr Adam's lovely wife cook for us. We thought that a change might be in order, so asked for Chicken Tawook. here's a shot taken after we'd had our fist meal from it, the rest lasted for a further two meals!
Of course, it was delicious, as her food always is. Mind you, it was the first time she'd attempted this dish, which surprised me. No doubt it will be on our future menu.
I was pleased to notice that the site of the collapsed building was being cleared of rubbish; becoming a rubbish tip is always the fate of any newly created space on the ground in Luxor, wherever it might be!
Our trip up the Nile was as enchanting as ever! How could it not be?
As many of you will be aware, that last pic is of part of the ancient quarries from whence the stones which make up the magnificent tombs and temples were hewn. This next little video is from the same area of the Nile's banks.
The scene which slides by as the ships slowly (only comparatively, mind!) navigate up and down stream is a constantly changing, but utterly charming, one of historic rural living frozen in time! Except, that is for the two industrial sites, one on either bank, of the ship repair facility, where they are taken completely out of the water, and the steel works.
Our ship owner spends his days on the Nile too. Although his mobile phone is seldom away from his ear, he obviously relishes travelling this main thoroughfare of his lovely country. I envy him this opportunity, but not his responsibilities in such a fluctuating economic climate which currently rules in Egyptian tourism!
The most picturesque temple view from a Nile cruise ship must surely be that of Kom Ombo Temple:
The bloke in the picture was one of the Germans, he kept trying to engage me in conversation, even though it was obvious, by my English replies, that I was English! (I'm sure he was wearing a pair of his wife's sandals in this picture.)
Our cruises seem to approach Aswan in the evening, well, after dark anyway. I'm always struck by the brilliantly lit Mosque on the east bank as we near the town. Of course, it's too difficult to get a snap of it in the dark whilst sailing, but here it is on our outbound journey:
One of the other changes we've seen in Aswan, is the style of the children's little boats, from which they sing to tourists in the feluccas. When we first came to Egypt (in pre-historic times, or so it seems now!) they had little metal built boats, just big enough to squeeze a child into, which they paddled with their hands. Now, they're perched on top of, what look like, surfboards! And they use squares of plastic for paddles; ingenuity and innovation, eh?
Walking back from a bit of shopping the other night, I noticed that the Sheikh's tomb had been recently painted. The group of women seemed to be on guard duty, and I have to admit to being
reluctant to get any closer to take the pic!
Lastly (for the moment) here's a shot of the renewed soil pipe down the front of Mr Adam's building:
Goodnight, Dear Reader, wherever you may be.
Just one more thing; seeing as we've a lot of pics in this Blog. If you click on any picture, you can view them all together, only bigger. In case you'd forgotten.
