Sunrise at Philae
by Digger Barr
gaiasgardens.guru/
Something happened on the way to Aswan, Egypt.
First my body broke down. And my mind, already in disarray, went blank.
I mean like words stopped forming with any cognitive coherence.
I could speak and communicate with people but when I sat down to write a sentence nothing happened.
I wrote a paragraph full of words and stared at them with no feeling or connection to what they said whatsoever. They had no meaning.
I could not connect with a thought or intention to put into words and the words I wrote gave me no guidance on what I was feeling or which direction I should go.
As a writer this was devastating.
I sat under the canopy of the Dahabeya and closed the laptop.
I looked up and stared at the passing cane fields and banana trees. It was beautiful on the Nile.
It was day two on the boat and we were in transition from the upper Nile, known as Lake Nasser to the lower region.
Actually our next stop was to the Temple of Isis at Philae.
First we needed to go through the locks.
The temple of Isis was once located on the island of Philae but had since been relocated to the island next door because of flooding from the rebuilding of the dam.
It was preserved by the collaboration of many countries and is registered as a UNESCO heritage site.
Getting there was going to be a bit of an adventure. The yacht we are on will moor along the bank of the Nile, we will get on a bus that takes us to a docking area on Lake Nassar.
We will then climb aboard a motor boat and continue to the island for an early morning private visit to the Temple.
Yes, another private visit. We were blessed.
I did forget to mention that in order to have the private visit we had a 5 am wake up call.
Grab a quick breakfast and we will be on our way well before sunrise.
That’s tomorrow. I could have cared less today.
I sat with four other travelers under the shade canopy in the open air deck.
I really liked the warm temperatures of Africa. This was one thing I really embraced for my piece of mind.
It felt good on my body and that was soothing the senses for all my other woes.
We were all dealing with something and there was a growing camaraderie in our discomfort. We shared very personal updates as only family members would do.
We were bonding by our experiences. All of them.
I can’t say enough about the good people on this trip.
Even if I was floundering for words on the page, my world had shifted and my focus became what was happening in the every now moment.
I was given a powerful lesson on being present. My world could not be bothered about the past or the future.
It was all I could do to just be me right there right then.
Being with these people seemed to be perfect and just being was all I needed to do.
4 am and the wailing began. Not from anywhere on the boat. It seemed to be coming from the shore.
Ah yes, the call to morning prayers. Really? at 4 am. I questioned the local timekeeper.
We dragged ourselves into breakfast looking a bit haggard. Ahh, misery loves company.
Nothing like a good jump on the day to reap the benefits awaiting our arrival.
On to the bus, clamor into the motor boat, turn your face to the wind.
Temple of Isis
The smile crept across my face naturally.
I soaked in the scenery around us. It was magnificent beauty.
We were on Lake Nasser speeding our way to The Temple of Isis in complete pristine silence and pre-dawn light.
A flock of birds stirred from the shore and glided close to the water’s surface and out of sight.
The cool air felt invigorating giving way to a connectedness juxtaposed to the previous hurry and scurry to this moment.
We pulled around an island and paraded up a quarried rock walkway.
We gathered to hear our group leader and the Egyptologist give some information before proceeding into the Temple Complex.
Today we enter the Heart Chakra. According to the story this is where Isis found Osiris’ heart in her search for all his pieces dismembered by Seth.
It’s quite the story. And a very important one in the spiritual beliefs of many.
The temple of Isis therefore is also dedicated to Osiris and their son Horus.
Hathor playing a harp
There are also inscriptions honoring the Hathors showing many musical instruments for healing on the walls.
It is a healing temple as Isis is depicted as the Goddess of healing and magic.
We spent some time exploring the Temple before gathering along the east wall for sunrise.
This was a reverent moment. Whether you were a follower of Isis or not, the powerful story of death and rebirth stirs deep within all of us.
And when faced with our own weaknesses and mortality, the will to live is strongly directed from the heart.
Isis, seated on the left
How could the energy that houses an immortal heart not give pause and transfer introspection.
To be a part of the sunrise over the heart chakra of Egypt was like feeling a rebirth of life itself.
It was a dawning moment of how light eventually overcomes the darkness not always in a blink of an eye, but in a gradual and patient awakening. Maybe the early call to prayer never happened. But I heard a calling and that came first.
When you persevere and hold the faith, the rebirth will be an awakening of the heart.
We were where we needed to be.
To be, just be in this moment was everything.
We headed back across the lake, passing multiple tourist groups on their way in.
Wow, our visit was so much different from what they will see.
Gratitude to everyone that made that happen.
You know who you are.
Digger2023