Day 185 - Karnak Temple
Friday, January 4th, 2019
We took it easy this morning, had a late breakfast and then, around 1:30pm we walked to the dock to get a boat to the east bank. I always get anxious when Gregory has to negotiate with the Egyptians because it can take a while and I just wanted everything to go super smooth while my mom was with us.
Sure enough, many people approached us with offers and Gregory started to say no. We almost got in a boat, but because they didn't offer the price that Gregory wanted, he said goodbye to that boat driver. I was worried (of course) that it was getting late to meet with our guide at 2:00pm. Finally, another man with a boat came and agreed to take us for 50 EGP which is about $2.50. Everything went smoothly until the guy parked the boat on the other side of the river, where the dock was closed. Instead, he had to stop at an embankment, with rocks and dirt.
My mom had warned me that she wasn’t going to get off the boat on a very narrow plank of wood like she had to do before. Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything I could have done. He was very sweet and helped my mom out of the boat, and he moved stones out of the way so she could walk. He brought us to some stairs and pointed us in the direction of Karnak temple.
We finally made it, half an hour late to meet our guide at the temple entrance. My poor mother was falling way behind Gregory and Sunshine who were ahead and walk very fast. [Gregory's note: we wanted to split up so we could find Osama and wait for Lili and her mom in the visitor's center so the guide would feel like we weren't running so late.] She even told me to go ahead and that she would do the tour at her own pace. I felt bad and of course, slowed down to walk with her.
Osama gave some explanations about the temple, about the kings and queens that had their faces and altars constructed at the temple complex. He also explained how the obelisk was made, brought to Karnak, and erected. He would challenge us by asking questions and was surprised that I knew how long it had taken the queen to set up the obelisk. I knew the answer because my mom and I had watched a documentary about the temple the night before. Cheaters!
I’m glad we came to see it the day after the other two temples because Karnak is huge and there is so much to look at, walk around, and appreciate. Daniel stayed home because he had a throat ache, at least that's what he said, but I think he has what I call a ruins-ache from seeing too many ancient ruins. Gregory and I gave him a free pass to stay home because I think he had seen more than enough in Egypt!
I wish the tour guide had stayed with us and explained more, but he gave us some free time to look around more and told us that he would wait for us at the entrance. I felt bad because we could have just paid him then but he ended up waiting until 4:00pm.
We finished admiring the temple and said our goodbyes to Osama who had brought the van and driver from yesterday. We were all excited that he was able to drive us to find an ATM and then to the dock. My mom wanted to pay him extra to drive us to the other side of the river instead of just to the dock, but it is expensive because there is only one bridge and it is very far from the city, meaning an extra 20 minutes drive, at least.
The easy option is to take the ferry with all the locals and pay only 5 EGP which is nothing! Of course, I would have preferred to hire a private boat for 20 or even 30 EGP. My mom kept reminding me how little that was ($1.50) to cross the river, but because we didn’t want to negotiate, we took the public ferry and sat with all the locals. [Gegory's note: actually, we took the public ferry because it has the best dock -- easy steps, wide platform, no jumping or crossing other boats.] It was a nice, short ride and I don’t mind it but I was worried about my mom and I just wanted her to have the best experience.
On the ferry, we couldn’t find a place to sit, so Gregory, Sunshine, and my mom sat at the very front of the boat while Ali and I sat on a different bench two rows behind. I got some cute pictures of children who were sitting nearby. My mom had no trouble getting off the boat and up to the street.
We headed back to our home which was near the dock, but first, my mom had to stop at the closest mini market to buy her daily Diet Coke and Cheetos! Gregory wanted a kebab so he went to get his food at the restaurant and the rest of us settled for chicken nuggets and tomatoes at home. Danny was very frustrated because we didn’t have good internet at the apartment. [Gregory's note: first world problems.]
We took it easy this morning, had a late breakfast and then, around 1:30pm we walked to the dock to get a boat to the east bank. I always get anxious when Gregory has to negotiate with the Egyptians because it can take a while and I just wanted everything to go super smooth while my mom was with us.
Sure enough, many people approached us with offers and Gregory started to say no. We almost got in a boat, but because they didn't offer the price that Gregory wanted, he said goodbye to that boat driver. I was worried (of course) that it was getting late to meet with our guide at 2:00pm. Finally, another man with a boat came and agreed to take us for 50 EGP which is about $2.50. Everything went smoothly until the guy parked the boat on the other side of the river, where the dock was closed. Instead, he had to stop at an embankment, with rocks and dirt.
My mom had warned me that she wasn’t going to get off the boat on a very narrow plank of wood like she had to do before. Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything I could have done. He was very sweet and helped my mom out of the boat, and he moved stones out of the way so she could walk. He brought us to some stairs and pointed us in the direction of Karnak temple.
We finally made it, half an hour late to meet our guide at the temple entrance. My poor mother was falling way behind Gregory and Sunshine who were ahead and walk very fast. [Gregory's note: we wanted to split up so we could find Osama and wait for Lili and her mom in the visitor's center so the guide would feel like we weren't running so late.] She even told me to go ahead and that she would do the tour at her own pace. I felt bad and of course, slowed down to walk with her.
Osama gave some explanations about the temple, about the kings and queens that had their faces and altars constructed at the temple complex. He also explained how the obelisk was made, brought to Karnak, and erected. He would challenge us by asking questions and was surprised that I knew how long it had taken the queen to set up the obelisk. I knew the answer because my mom and I had watched a documentary about the temple the night before. Cheaters!
I’m glad we came to see it the day after the other two temples because Karnak is huge and there is so much to look at, walk around, and appreciate. Daniel stayed home because he had a throat ache, at least that's what he said, but I think he has what I call a ruins-ache from seeing too many ancient ruins. Gregory and I gave him a free pass to stay home because I think he had seen more than enough in Egypt!
I wish the tour guide had stayed with us and explained more, but he gave us some free time to look around more and told us that he would wait for us at the entrance. I felt bad because we could have just paid him then but he ended up waiting until 4:00pm.
We finished admiring the temple and said our goodbyes to Osama who had brought the van and driver from yesterday. We were all excited that he was able to drive us to find an ATM and then to the dock. My mom wanted to pay him extra to drive us to the other side of the river instead of just to the dock, but it is expensive because there is only one bridge and it is very far from the city, meaning an extra 20 minutes drive, at least.
The easy option is to take the ferry with all the locals and pay only 5 EGP which is nothing! Of course, I would have preferred to hire a private boat for 20 or even 30 EGP. My mom kept reminding me how little that was ($1.50) to cross the river, but because we didn’t want to negotiate, we took the public ferry and sat with all the locals. [Gegory's note: actually, we took the public ferry because it has the best dock -- easy steps, wide platform, no jumping or crossing other boats.] It was a nice, short ride and I don’t mind it but I was worried about my mom and I just wanted her to have the best experience.
On the ferry, we couldn’t find a place to sit, so Gregory, Sunshine, and my mom sat at the very front of the boat while Ali and I sat on a different bench two rows behind. I got some cute pictures of children who were sitting nearby. My mom had no trouble getting off the boat and up to the street.
We headed back to our home which was near the dock, but first, my mom had to stop at the closest mini market to buy her daily Diet Coke and Cheetos! Gregory wanted a kebab so he went to get his food at the restaurant and the rest of us settled for chicken nuggets and tomatoes at home. Danny was very frustrated because we didn’t have good internet at the apartment. [Gregory's note: first world problems.]
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