Edfu Temple and the Sound and Light Show

I spent a lovely time the other night at the wonderful temple of Edfu, dedicated to the god Horus. They have recently started their own Sound and Light show and I have to say that, for me, it is the best one I have seen so far. The lighting effects were fabulous, the stories they told were spot on and I loved it. Horus, Hathor and Seth were all spoken about, Ptolemy who built the temple and of course, Alexander the Great who founded the Ptolemaic dynasty.

Just a couple of hours drive from Luxor, through the real Egypt and we were there. A quick stop for tea on the way at a roadside coffee shop and we were all set up for this amazing show.

The God Seth

Spectacular lighting

 

At first I thought it was a bit slow to get going and was a tad concerned that I would be bored, but it improved dramatically and all of our small group were mesmerised by it. I could have stayed much longer.

Wonderful colours, magical

My only requirement that was not met was that we did not actually walk through the temple, as you do at Karnak temple, but it was still an excellent show.


 

Colourful finale

Please forgive the bad photos, I only had my phone with me.

Brief updates from me!

I have been very lax in updating my blog and I apologise for that.

It will be impossible to fill in all the blanks since my last post, but I will very briefly bring you all up to date.

Christmas was very quiet, and an extremely peaceful time. I actually found myself pickling some wonderful beetroot on Christmas morning. Not exactly a normal Christmas Day activity, but I enjoyed it!

Since Christmas, business has been pretty good considering the state of tourism in Luxor and I have spent some wonderful days with some wonderful people! We have had felucca sailing on Spirit, temples and tombs and one or two "off the beaten track" days, interspersed with lots of fun and laughter.

New neighbours have arrived in the flat upstairs. Fortunately they are friends and life in our little oasis promises to be pretty good indeed.

My Greek and Roman Mythology course ended, and elhamdulilah, I passed with a Distinction!  I then started an Introduction to Philosophy course, but never finished.  Work got in the way and I found myself getting further and further behind. So I let it go, and will sign up again in the future. Now I am onto my third course....... Ancient Greeks and loving it so far.

My laptop died a very sad death, but I am now the very proud owner of a new one! Much faster than my old faithful and with lots and lots of memory!

And the highlight of the last few months was a long overdue visit by my sister and her man! It was fabulous to see her, and finally meet the man who makes her happy. And we managed a whole week without fighting! How good is that!!

And finally, I have a couple of photos for you.....  

The first one is sunrise 2 days ago from the top deck of the ferry.

And the second is the following day, just yesterday, sunrise again from the top deck of the ferry.

A very different day!

And finally, one more picture at Karnak temple.....

See you all soon!!

Feluccas on the Nile

This week has been another busy week, but a fun one!
During the past week, I and my regular Egyptology guide have become more than a familiar sight at various temples and tombs, but I missed out on sailing as I got double booked and had to do Karnak Temple instead of sailing the Nile!  What a choice to make....... both are experiences I love, but needs must and one set of guests happily sailed on Felucca Spirit without me, and the other guests spent a happy afternoon in Karnak and Luxor temples.
Of course, I was pretty happy too!

So because I had to miss out on sailing, I had a nosey around my pictures and found a small video I made some time ago and I would like to share it with you now.

Catch up

So, it's been a while and lots has been happening here in sunny, hot Luxor!

I guess it all started when I broke my arm....... now that kind of put me out of action until I got the hang of doing things one handed. I got quite inventive too!

Just a couple of weeks after I had the accident, I was offered the chance to move into a lovely apartment. In the space of a week, I accepted, packed, moved and began the one handed unpacking. I impressed myself! I say began the unpacking, because it has taken me a month to actually open all the boxes, some of which had not been opened when we moved to the last apartment. Lol, that was only meant to be for 3 months, so I only unpacked the necessities....... that 3 months lasted just over a year!

I am sure sure anyone in Ramla will now know me as the crazy lady with a left arm plastered from shoulder to fingers, dragging a heavy suitcase in her right hand, a large holdall balanced precariously on said suitcase and a large bag slung over her right shoulder......  It was fun! I had to bring stuff to the new place (fortunately just around the corner), empty it and take the cases back to be refilled. The 2 of us moved pretty much everything except the big furniture this way!  The furniture came on the ubiquitous donkey and cart!  Loved it!

The day before we moved, a friend arrived from the UK. Needless to say, he was co-opted onto the "moving team"....... Thanks Lee!! Love ya loads!  Luckily he was here for 2 weeks, staying at the Hotel El Mesala and once we were actually in the new aparment, I could spend some time with him sightseeing.  We didn't do too much as it is very hot now, but we had a great day in Abydos and another day we went to Esna temple and managed a pyramid hunt as well.  Yes Suzie, we saw the Al Khula and Edfu pyramids!  Shame we never looked for the Abydos one.
We also had a great day watching the Abu Haggag moulid from the comfort of the Snacktime balcony... decent food, cold drinks and the fun of the moulid!

Things are quiet again now, the plaster is off my arm, although almost 2 weeks later and it is still swollen and sore,  but every day sees an improvement and I can do most things now.

We are now just over a week into Ramadan, and I am enjoying it, although not fasting myself. In many ways, I like Ramadan, the streets are quiet during the day, and there is a great atmosphere in the evenings after iftar.

So, that's my quick catch up!

Just one picture to show you.......... yes, its a pyramid that is not in Lower Egypt!  Its between Esna and Efdu at Al Khula....... and of course, that's me with my wonderful blue sling!

Healing and Therapy Day 25th May 2012

• • 
    Friday, 25 May 2012
  • 11:00 until 19:00 in UTC+03

• Near Gezira Garden Hotel, Ramla, West Bank, Luxor, Egypt

• I am having another Therapy Day on Friday, 25th May 2012, between the hours of 11am and 7pm, at my home. I will be offering the following: Reiki treatments Crystal Healing Indian Head Massage Hopi Ear Candling In addition I will have my "cards" around if anyone wants a mini reading. I am also hoping that a good friend of mine will be here. Jon, who lives in Dahab, is hoping to be in Luxor in the next few days, and will offer help and advice on yoga, as well as talking to people about his work with sounds and toning. He would love to meet any of you who can come. Once again, I am making no charge for anything except a charge of 60EGP to cover the cost of the Hopi Ear Candles. However, there will be a confidential box available if anyone would like to tip the therapist! I do hope that you can join me (and Jon, hopefully). If you wish to attend, it would be useful if you could email me with an approximate time that you would like your treatment. It just saves you having to sit around waiting if someone pipped you to the post! hazel.isis@googlemail.com Hope to see you all https://www.facebook.com/events/255551667885800/

The Inner Temple - Initiation: A Yoga Journey upon the Inner Nile

We now have our dates for the November dahabiya cruise "The Inner Temple - Initiation: A Yoga Journey upon the Inner Nile".

This fantastic week long, private dahabiya cruise promises to be the voyage of a lifetime. Yoga and sound, healing and therapies.  Classic travel on our very own traditional dahabiya. Temples, tombs and all that this amazing land has to offer!

Join us now!  November 21st to 28th 2012

http://jonathanorchard.wordpress.com/nile-cruise-luxor-to-aswan-november-2012/  for more information!

If you require an information pack, please email either me, hazel@spiritofthenile.com or Jonathan ptaah1111@yahoo.co.uk

Visiting kids!

Last week was a great week. Both of my kids were here at the same time!

Unfortunately, their flight was delayed because of the huge sandstorm we had. While we hung around Luxor Airport the kids were happily drinking coffee in Marsa Alam, where they had been diverted to, before the plane finally arrived in Luxor some 5 hours late!  But it was still a fantastic feeling to see them both walking through arrivals!

View at dinner

 We did not have a strenous week, a week is too short, so it was good to just catch up and spend time together.

We did, however, manage a fabulous day at the Red Sea and had some seriously good beach time.

Balloons on our early start

Red Sea, Hurghada

The drive back was a tad scary though....... Western Desert Road, in the dark with most Egyptians never using any lights!

Mini sand storm in the desert

Sunset over the desert

Sightseeing was minimal this time, although we did spend a great afternoon at the Valley of the Nobles, before heading to the Ramesseum Cafe for a beer.

Sailing of course........ and the last afternoon was spent on the river. Perfect wind, very relaxing and a gorgeous sunset.











We had lots of eating out and I was especially impressed with Pizza Roma. Great Italian food at reasonable prices.

Sadly, the week passed far too quickly,  and it was time to head back to the airport.

But I loved having them both here and I am hoping its not too long before they are back!

Tones of Creation - Initiation: A Yoga Journey upon the Inner Nile

Tones of Creation  Click here


We have a new Facebook page for our unique tour.  A full information pack is available now upon request.  If you have any questions or need more information, please leave us a message on the Facebook page.

Jonathan has some brilliant workshops planned for us!  Be there!

Jonathan also has a new blog which is in progress...... but it is accessible now.  Have a look!

Jonathan's blog

Tones of Creation - the cruise with a difference

Jon at Giza Pyramids

I am honoured and delighted to be working with Jonathan Orchard, an amazing yoga teacher, musician and poet on this fabulous yoga holiday. More information on Jon's work can be found on his websiteJonathan Orchard Yoga!

We aim to combine yoga with meditations and sounds, and link it all in with Ancient Egypt and the eternal River Nile.

Dahabiya - sail in style

We are cruising on a dahabiya south to Aswan for one whole week of spirituality!

Our first cruise will take place on June 20th, 2012 and we will be celebrating the Summer Solstice in Karnak Temple, Luxor. This is a special moment on its own.

Sunset over Karnak sacred lake

Add to that visits to various temples en route to Aswan, each with its own individual spirituality, a relaxing sail on a twin masted dahabiya, yoga classes and meditations, tonings and therapies and we think we have the perfect holiday.

It is a retreat with a difference.


Briefly, this is a precis of our journey

"Join us for a compelling eight day journey into the inner worlds of awareness. Enter into a deeply transformative process born from the depths of the Egyptian Mysteries.  Our focus will be the Seven Seals or chakras and the vast universe that exists within each of them. By exploring these energy vortices within your own subtle energy body, known as the Ka by the ancient Egyptians, you will activate and free life-enhancing energies.

From an esoteric and mythic standpoint, the sacred pathway of the chakras is sometimes referred to as the Inner Nile. This is due to the fact that subtle energies continually move through this pathway, metaphorically, like the waters of a river or a stream.

The classical neters of ancient Egypt are often associated with the pantheon of gods and goddess as expressions of fundamental forces of consciousness. On this journey we will be working with the flow of subtle energy from these archetypal beings.

Other systems of alchemy or energy or energy-based transformation recognize similar life-enhancing subtle energies, but call them by different names. Yogis use the word prana, while Taosits use the term chi. These three (neter, prana and chi) are quite similar in many regards though the methods for working them in meditation are quite different.

We will be focusing on prana.

By entering deep meditative states through the use of sound, you can effect the flow and quality of the neters within your own Ka. This refinement of subtle energy is the source, the stream from which positive life change occurs during this journey."

More information can be found on our Facebook page at Tones of Creation  or we can be reached via email for a full programme information pack as follows:

Hazel -hazel@spiritofthenile.com

Jon    - ptaah1111@yahoo.co.uk

The eternal River Nile

We both hope that you can join us on this journey!   

Tones of Creation

Coming soon!

Tones of Creation

Initiation:  Journey upon the River Nile

A brand new project for me in collaboration with Jonathan Orchard, yoga and all things spiritual!  Music and singing combined with yoga and spirituality.  Add to that a private dahabiya, the River Nile, Ancient Egypt's temples and tombs and you have the journey of a lifetime!

Jonathan is "The Voice of Yoga"   Jonathan's website

Watch this space for details of the most amazing Nile cruise ever!!

A great week in Luxor!

I had a great week last week!  I am not sure where to start but it was a wonderful mix of work, fun and peace.



During the week I spent a wonderful morning in the Valley of the Kings with 2 lovely Belgian ladies who I was looking after for a friend. 4 hours and only 3 tombs! We loved it!




I made it to one of the films at the African Film Festival, wandered along the new corniche before heading for coffee with yet more friends.



I spent a couple of hours on a caleche.... visited Ace Animal Hospital and was taken to view a working water wheel complete with donkey turning the wheel.  (There was a cow, but apparently, the cow had gone lol)

I also went to Karnak temple, again another amazing morning, I find new things every time I go there!

A friend bought me a pressie from the UK..... I now have a fabulous new bag which was stuffed full of gorgeous smellies, and a nice chunk of really strong mature cheddar!

I spent quite a lot of time on the East Bank this week, and had a lot of fun while I was there. Copious amounts of coffee were consumed at varying times!


The building work has slowed down now....  the building in front of me seems to be complete from a building point of view, next door is being painted as we speak (and the outside walls are canary yellow!!), the roof seems to have ground to a halt.

This is the building in front of me when they started in November, it is now a 3 storey building! But fortunately it is not blocking my view of the river!

Hodhod bird

And here is a hodhod bird on my balcony, with the new building in the background!





Home is once again a reasonably quite place to return to.  Well, except for today and yesterday when they have decided to play music very loudly and sing along! I am guessing it helps the paint to dry!

Another West Bank sightseeing excursion tomorrow morning is planned, should be fun and I am hoping to see the new statue at Amenhotep Third! Must tell the driver to drive slowly! 

View to the West Bank from the new corniche

Another busy, but fun week looms!  I hope you all have the kind of week that I think I will have!

Yet another great travel report!

Yet another great travel report from the UK's Independent newspaper!

Alone on the Nile

At last there are some very positive reports coming through. Great to see!  

Feluccas on the Nile

I am so impressed with myself!  Despite the demolition of the balcony above me, the bricks being hauled up to the roof, and the big iron winch being dragged up the stairs at 7.30am, I have made myself a You Tube video!  It has taken me hours and hours, but its here!!  Enjoy!

am I am so impressed with myself

A Gloop of cement!

As some of you may know, the building I am living in is undergoing a little building work!

This work started early in December last year and is still ongoing. I am beginning to feel beseiged!

They started on the roof where there is already a small studio apartment, and they decided to build a second studio apartment and divide the large roof terrace into two.

At the same time, the privately owned flat next door to me was scheduled to undergo renovation. This actually meant knocking down all of the internal and external walls, and completely starting from scratch. The only thing virtually left standing was the cement and steel supports.

Within a few days, the family who live directly in front of me started to build a new home, the unfinished building at the side of me decided it wanted finishing,  and the camels kicked up such a fuss they never shut up!

My gloop of cement

Today, some 2 months down the line, the roof now has 2 unfinished, but still being worked on, one bedroom apartments, there is a domed studio being built on top of those........   the flat next door is still little more than a shell (with the odd hole where they actually knocked through our joining wall).......   the building in front of me is now a 3 floor apartment block (unfinished) and they are still working on the building at the side of me.

Everyday, the banging starts at around 7.30am until after sunset, it reverberates around me from all angles. My adjoining wall to the flat next door is shaking and rattling on a daily basis, and why is it when they hook up the big electric winch to haul the bricks and cement up to the higher floors, they insist on doing it at 7am outside my bedroom window!

The landings and stairways are constantly covered in dust and concrete, my floors need washing EVERY day! And I have given up trying to keep the balcony clean!

 But despite all the noise, banging, dust and grime, I can still look at the River Nile and Luxor Temple from my balcony. A minute's walk brings me to this amazing river and even though it is driving me crazy at the moment, I can sit it out and wait for my peace to return......   Inshallah!  And just to remind you, this is a great picture of sunrise one day last week as I waited outside Luxor temple for my ride to pick me up!  Wonderful morning!

And just for good measure, this is my new, young gamoosa (water buffalo) who lives under my balcony and who smiles at me every morning to say good morning. She is gorgeous and has one brown eye and one blue eye!

Can I live with the noise? Yes I can, when I have all this on my doorstep!

We need more blogs like this! A perfect time to come to Egypt

I have just read this blog. Great report on a trip to Egypt........ Cairo, Aswan, Abu Simbel and Luxor!  Great descriptions and it sounds like they had fun!
They also spent a couple of nights on a felucca from Aswan!  Don't forget we offer the same trips for anyone interested!  Camping on the River Nile!  Wonderful!

http://my.tntmagazine.com/blogs/15/177/egypt-a-year-after-revolution-b

El Mesala Hotel and a brand new pool

Today was the official opening of the brand new swimming pool at El Mesala Hotel on the West Bank of Luxor.

El Mesala is a great little hotel, very reasonably priced and highly recommended. They have recently opened their rooftop restaurant with the most spectacular views of the River Nile and Luxor Temple, and now they have completed this phase of developement with a lovely swimming pool.

The weather was glorious! Tea and cakes were served and a few children just could not resist the temptation of being the first ones to test the waters!

It was definitely too cold for me, as the heater has not yet been installed, but as the end of winter is almost upon us, I doubt it matters at the moment.  One or two brave ladies did take the plunge and said once you were in the water it was lovely! They were still there relaxing on sunbeds when I left.  I have no doubt that a lovely lunch would be served by the pool to finish off their day.

This is yet another huge reason for choosing El Mesala Hotel for your relaxing West Bank stay! Great hotel, family run, one of the best chefs in Luxor and now you can swim and soak up those rays!

What better way to round off a day of sightseeing, than a dip in the pool with a few refreshments to take you through to dinner.


Thanks to Helen Bailey at Egypt Unveiled for her excellent photography!
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150506475362864.371256.606142863&type=1

Travel review: Egypt - the wonder of history - Travel Reviews - Yorkshire Evening Post

Nice little travel review from the Yorkshire Evening Post!

Travel review: Egypt - the wonder of history - Travel Reviews - Yorkshire Evening Post

Looking back at 2011

What an interesting year!

2011 has seen some major changes in the world, we have seen revolutions, natural disasters, royal weddings, financial upheaval, and a few miracles along the way.

For me personally it has been a challenging year in many ways. We began the year on a high...... business was good and we had the promise of a great season....... then we had January 25th and the Egyptian Revolution. I am proud to say I was here throughout this incredible change.  Yes, I was caught up in a small teargas incident, but nothing major happened here in my adopted town. I celebrated with my egyptian friends, I was glued to anything and everything on television, I spent hours talking, debating and explaining my own personal views. I even found a copy of the Egyptian Constitution and read it end to end.  On a personal level, yes, I suffered financially, but Egypt is more than one persons finances. I can only hope that 2012 will bring Egypt all that it so desperately needs.

2011 has seen a house move for me....with all its trials and tribulations including disappearing flying carpets, but it also brought a view of the River Nile from my balcony instead of a concrete building across the street. People moved in and out of my life, sometimes not in a good way, but sometimes in a marvellous way.  Almost like the move over the River Nile moved my life in an entirely opposite direction.

I have met some wonderful people during this year....... many guests who are now friends and many others who have come into my life and left again, but leaving behind them lots of warm feelings and happiness. Some older friendships have been renewed or become closer, others sadly have gone.

I spent time on 11.11.11 inside Luxor Temple with some great people. I started a group for Reiki and sharing our knowledge (although we do need to get back on track with that now that Christmas and New Year are over lol) and on a spiritual level, some fascinating people have dropped into my life. I hope they stay.

The felucca has been busy, well as much as she can be during a revolution and we have spent many happy hours sailing with guests or with friends. The drop in tourism has affected us, obviously, but we are all confident it will return to normal. But is it a case of quality over quantity? We have certainly had quality this year!

A year of contrasts, a year of excitement, a year of sadness at times, but always a year of learning to live my life as it is meant to be lived.

2011 has been interesting to say the least, now lets see what 2012 has to bring!

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of you a Very Happy, Prosperous and Joyful 2012 from myself, Saeed and all the team at Spirit of the Nile!

Happy New Year!!!!

Visiting son!

Last week I was delighted to have my son here for a week in sunny Luxor. It has been over 2 years since I last saw him in person (Skype video does not count!), so it was brilliant to have him come and visit.
We had a mixed week of sightseeing and chilling and I do have to say, it was great to just sit and chat. Mind you, we had no choice if we were home as we have had no satellite here for almost 2 weeks now (building on the roof is yet another story!).

I am not sure what my son thinks my life is like here, but on his first day here, he found himself on the felucca with a group of 7 French ladies!!! All of them wanted to kiss him (well they are French) and only a couple of whom speak any English. But he coped and I hope he enjoyed himself.  I am sure if they had all been very young women, he would have been far more happy with the kissing thing. The following day he sailed the River Nile again....... this time with some friends of mine who were celebrating their wedding anniversary!

Yet another day found us at Tod temple and then in Esna, where I was happy to see that they are doing a lot of restoration work on the temple there.... some of the colours they are finding under the soot are incredible! Myself, the son and a friend enjoyed our trip immensely. We finished off the Esna part of the day by a walk through the souk! Wonderful fresh veggies and fruit at a fraction of the Luxor price! I was in my element and completely forgot that my son maybe was not so comfortable with it as I was. Culture shock indeed! But he coped and eventually we found our way back to the transport where we headed back north having a stop at Moalla on the way back. After numerous childhood accidents involving falling and breaking arms.... I have to admit being a tad concerned at the deep holes in the tombs there and went all "mumsy" in case he fell in. But he didn't and we left in one piece. Elhamdulilah!  At every place we visited we were on our own...... tourism may be suffering but it is perfect for sightseeing if anyone is here! Empty temples and tombs and space to wander around..... wonderful.

We also managed a day on the West Bank involving the Valley of the Workers, Nobles tombs and a couple of visits to the Ramesseum Resthouse, where we bumped into friends and had an enjoyable beer or two. And then we WALKED home!  Ramesseum to the Ramla....... after sunset, in the cold, wrapped up like mummys, but thoroughly happy.

Our week together went all too quickly and before I knew it, we were heading back to the airport and his flight home. But he will be back soon, at least he said he would!

FJP to win or not?

Does the apparent success of the Justice and Freedom Party in the first round of elections in Egypt mean something sinister? With the majority of the population outside of Cairo, and a long way from Tahrir Square, are their needs being ignored, or put aside in the quest for democracy?  Democracy for who? The illiterate?  The farmers? The small shopkeepers? Or the liberal, middle classes who do not know hunger, can afford 20LE for latte as opposed to the majority who would not even know what a latte is?
Is this apparently large vote for the JFP a reflection of what they want, or is it buying votes? If it is buying votes, then are they looking directly at the majority of the population's needs and will they come good on that?
I was told that the MB would never win any elections, the people do not want it, but it seems my source was wrong...... possibly.

Many questions, and maybe no answers......... just food for thought

Some interesting comments by an aquaintance of mine, Nicole Hansen, living and working in Cairo.

"A suggestion to my liberal friends: Fast tomorrow, and reflect on what it is like to be hungry. Don't go to Cilantro for your 20LE latte and muffin. The people who voted for FJP and Nour parties because they gave them food ormoney didn't do so because they are uneducated or because they are religious zealots, but because when one has to choose between life and death, people will always choose life. Until survival is no longer the primary concern of the majority of the population, then the people will logically choose who feeds them"


And


"On CBC a few weeks ago they brought this guy in from the Fayyum to be interviewed in the studio. He was 52 years old but looked 75, had no steady job, his wife earned 150LE a month. They rent a house for 200LE a month, are 6 months overdue on their rent and their lease is up in May. They have no furniture and sleep on the floor. They eat beans and macaroni from a charity, usually 1 meal a day. He had an old mobile, he didn't buy it, he happened to have found it in the street that day, and didn't even know how to turn off the ringer when it rang in the middle of the program. His daughter is first in her class in school but he cant afford to buy her new clothes for the eid. They asked him if he knew who the prime minister was, he didn't. And you know what, he told the interviewer he knew people who had it a lot worse than he did. That is the average Egyptian for you."