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Introducing a series of articles on some of the most fascinating sites of
ancient Egypt, by Jean Smith (right), the President of the Egyptian Society of
South Africa in Cape Town. To access previous articles in the series, please see
the index at the bottom of the page.
The Lake Cruise - The monuments on Lake Nasser
See small pictures of the artifacts mentioned in the text to the right -
click on the pictures to see larger. more detailed copies.
One of the highlights of tours to Egypt (as arranged by Cecelia Amory of
Egypt and beyond) has to be a cruise! Whether on the great river itself or on
Lake Nasser this tranquil mode of travel has much to commend it.
On this latest visit to Egypt in February 2010 the river cruise was replaced
by a cruise on Lake Nasser on board the ship MS Eugenie.
Arriving in Aswan after the hectic delights of my favourite city Cairo, and
visits to sights in Aswan the small group boarded the MS Eugenie, where
despite the unseasonal heat, we were greeted with small hot towels with which to
refresh ourselves.
Settling into our comfortable cabin we noted with delight our tiny 'balcony'
complete with table and two chairs which I earmarked for future use! There is
something almost hypnotic in the sound of water rushing past as the ship ploughs
its way across gigantic Lake Nasser, (the name in Arabic is transliterated as
Buhayra Nasir) and is the largest man-made lake in the world.
It was created in the 1960s when the famous High Dam was built and it's named
for the then President of Egypt, Gamal Abdel Nasser. It is an astonishing 564km
long, holds ca.170,000cu.km of water (University of Liverpool) and is up to
ca.185m deep in places. Food fish species such as the Nile Perch and the Tiger
fish have been introduced into the lake and I'm told make for good fishing!
Once, while waiting for everyone to board our motor boat, I saw a few large fish
swimming close to the ship, lured there by a bread roll someone had tossed into
the water; and a very nice size they were too!
The reason for the lake's creation was to provide Egypt with
hydro-electricity, and to regulate the flow of water along the river all year
round; the introduction of food fish into the lake provides a ready source of
protein to the people.
All these 'pros' however were offset by a serious 'con' because the
construction of the lake inundated large tracts of Nubian land in what today is
called Sudan and many monuments were lost beneath the water. However, through
international efforts in the 1960s some temples were saved by being dismantled
and re-erected on higher ground; the most famous of these are the magnificent
temples at Abu Simbel. (See 'The Temples at
Abu Simbel.')
Some of the saved temples were donated to foreign countries in appreciation
of their support during the rescue operation. Amongst the recipients was the
United States who received the Roman temple originally at Dendur; this has been
reassembled in its own hall in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York where
I had the privilege of seeing it there in the late 1980s.
The lake cruise therefore, visits those temples that were rescued; I won't
write about them all as despite being lovely in their own right they have
similar decorations and dedications to the gods.
The first to be visited are on the island of new Kalabsha. There are three
monuments here, one being the largest free standing Graeco-Roman temple in Lower
Nubia. Like other Graeco-Roman temples north of here, this temple was built in
strict Pharaonic style - that is, it has a pylon (which for some strange reason
is very much out of true), a peristyle court leading to a hypostyle hall. The
columns in the peristyle hall have composite capitals similar to those at Philae
temple.
This temple is dedicated not only to Osiris and Isis but also to a Nubian god
named Mandoulis - this is the Greek version of the name of the Nubian sun-god
Merwel.
The walls are decorated with scenes depicting the worship of the gods of
Elephantine and Aswan - that is Khnum, Satis and Anuket. The furthest room, that
is the god's sanctuary, has a depiction of the Roman emperor Augustus offering
to Mandoulis. Other gods in the temples are depicted in a scene showing the King
surrounded by these Egyptian gods, amongst whom are Amun-Min, Ptah and Thoth (Djehuti);
this area was later used as a church by early Coptic Christians.
Something rather interesting that I almost forgot to mention but was reminded
of, are some images of Mandoulis wearing a vulture feathered coat - look out for
this as you exit the temple. (Thanks to AD for the reminder.)
Close by is the small Roman kiosk of Qertassi - probably meant to be a copy
of the Trajan kiosk at Philae, it was unfinished - it originally had ten columns
of which six remain. Four have the usual composite capitals in typical late
style but the remaining two columns have Hathor capitals - these are
particularly interesting because the capitals are topped by sistra. This little
kiosk is very pretty and worth having a closer look at, if possible and if time
permits.
Also on this new island is the semi Speos or part rock cut temple of Beit el-Wali
- this charming temple is Pharaonic and another of Ramesses II's monuments in
Nubia. In shape, it's sort of T-shaped; the depictions on the long walls
celebrate yet again the Pharaoh's military victories over the traditional
enemies of Egypt, Libyans, Syrians and Nubians.
In the long arm of the 'T' is a sanctuary dedicated to Amun but also features
such southern deities as Khnum, Satis and Anuket. Don't miss the niches that
contain a group made up of Ramesses and two gods.
Also on these walls but higher up, look out for a very nice frieze of 'kheker'
or cobra elements and on the ceiling a series of vultures with outstretched
wings, both cobra and vulture being symbols of divine protection of the king.
This is a most interesting temple and is very worth visiting.
The only other temples I'll mention are at another small 'island' called Wadi
El-Sebua. Two temples were built in this area; for the 18th dynasty Pharaoh
Amenhotep III and the 19th dynasty Pharaoh Ramesses II - the temple belonging to
the latter was saved but the former was not and is sadly lost.
This temple was built for Ramesses II and is another semi-Speos - part
rock-cut. It's approached by an avenue lined with human headed sphinxes wearing
the double crown of ancient Egypt - not all in good condition sadly. Look at the
bases of these sphinxes, you'll see depictions of bound prisoners - the
symbolism is of the great king as a lion triumphant over his enemies. This
avenue leads to a series of three pylons - in front of the first one stood
statues of the king - of which only one remains - this and the other statues
inside the temple are in the curious heavy rounded style of this area. Unlike
the outside statues, those in the inner temple are engaged. A small hypostyle
with just twelve columns stands before the sanctuary; the sanctuary was
decorated with images of the Pharaoh offering to the gods who probably were Amun-Re,
Re-Harakhty and possibly Ramesses himself - the reason for this uncertainty is
that when the early Coptic Christians converted this temple to a church, they
plastered over the walls while leaving the Pharaoh figure untouched; this makes
it appear as if Ramesses is making offerings to St. Peter. Most of the plaster
has fallen off the walls.
A short camel ride away is the small temple of Dakka - while heavily ruined
there are nevertheless some interesting scenes. This temple was begun by a
Nubian king Arkamani, in the 3rd century BCE but was only completed by later
Ptolemaic kings. It was dedicated to the god Thoth (Djehuti) and has two
sanctuaries. An interesting second structure is the small chapel of Arkamani,
showing the king making offerings to the gods, including a fascinating depiction
of a baboon worshipping a lion.
Other sites visited on this cruise are the temples of Amada and the semi-Speos
of Derr.
Although the Abu Simbel temples have been discussed elsewhere the approach to
them from the lake was something quite different and quite spectacular. All
passengers were invited to go on to the top deck; fruit juice was handed out and
suddenly, as we approached the temple, from the ship's broadcast system came the
loud strains of the 'Triumphal March' from 'Aida' - this beautiful and stirring
music was quite appropriate as, under the watchful gaze of Ramesses II the
Great, the ship steadily approached this lovely temple. There were plenty
opportunities to take photos as the ship anchored close by.
In the evening we went ashore and attended the 'Son et Lumiere' show -
but first came the Nubian dancers in their colourful robes accompanied by
musicians playing the traditional musical instruments with great gusto!
The 'Son et Lumiere' is just as impressive and emotive as ever - the
only change was that instead of having earphones handed out and plugged into a
power point under the seat, now one is handed a plastic packet complete with
earphones and a small 'box' whose 'innards' permit one to listen to the
commentary in one's chosen language.
The MS Eugenie is a comfortable ship and just as luxurious as those on
the Nile ; something memorable was the novel way in which the cabin stewards
shape the bedding into forms; one evening, a 'sheet' elephant, on another a
swan; but the highlight was the 'towel' man 'sitting' up in my bed reading my
book!
Heartfelt and grateful thanks as always are extended to Cecelia for her
kindness and generosity.
Any errors in this report are mine alone as are all photos.
Previous Articles in this series...
Some Small Museums of Egypt
The Cairo Museum Part 1
The Cairo Museum Part 2
The Corniche at Luxor
Queens of Ancient Egypt
A Visit to the Newly Discovered Pyramid at
Saqqara
The Temple of Horus at Edfu
The Graeco-Roman Temple at Kom Ombo
The Temple of Isis at Philae
The 5th Dynasty Pyramid of King Unas
The Temples at Abu Simbel
The Tomb of Niakh-khnum and Khnum-hotep
Sekhmet - The Powerful One
The Step Pyramid at Saqqara
Hatshepsut –The Queen Who Would Be King
The Tomb of Tutankhamen in the Valley of the
Kings
The Mortuary Temple of Rameses II – The
Rameseum
The Temples
The Tombs of the Nobles
The Worker's Village at Deir el Medina
The Ptolemaic Temple at Deir el Medina
The Valley of the Kings
To find out about cruises on Lake Nasser, please contact Cecelia
or Lindy on
+27 11 678 4777 or +27 11 478 2884 or email us on:
info@egyptandbeyond.co.za.
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