Denderra , this is a bit of an odd mix as temples go. The style is all wrong, quite frankly if you had commissioned it, you would want your money back, but let me start at the beginning...

It's is 60km up river from Luxor and the best way to visit is on a full day's river cruise (£35 per person including buffet lunch, all transfers, temple entry and guides - Jolleys again).

Cruising up the Nile is an amazing way to see the rural way of life, 99% of the population live within a mile or so of the river (flying in you see a thin green strip slicing the eastern and western deserts), after the hassle and bustle of the city this is an ideal respite. Children play in the river and farmers work the land - they all shout 'hello' and 'welcome', waving their arms in what looks like some mad competition to see who can get a response from us. We all wave back.




Denderra temple has remains from over FOUR THOUSAND years ago, but what you see there now is an Egyptian Temple built around two thousand years ago by the last native Pharaoh and at the time the Romans had over run Egypt. This site (more interesting than amazing) has a strange mix of styles, the carvings of the gods combine Egyptian and Greco-Roman symbols, the columns are very much Roman style and it is the site of the first zodiac carving. This place was built to convert the locals to the roman gods, hence introducing Roman symbols and gods to Egyptian carvings. The carving's are in raised relief, most other places are carved into the stone - and by comparison to temples twice as old, the quality is pretty poor as well. All in all it looks like a cheap rush job by the conquering Romans to convert the locals. But, who am I to talk - it's an amazing ancient monument, full of interest. You can go down into the crypt, up onto the roof (via a stone winding staircase), there are long tunnels full of carvings and a sacred lake. It shows the evolution of Egypt perfectly.

As I walk round I split away from the group to take pictures without too much human clutter and every time I take a photo I turn around to move on and there's a polish lady waiting to take exactly the same picture it was a little bizarre, although she stopped short of taking the same picture of Kathy in front of a statue!

The smile of the day came after we had arrived at the temple and the guide made the joke about the temple being only 2000 years old and therefore it's one of the new ones. One of the little old dears came out with 'it does look new doesn't it - in very good condition', the bloke next to her replied 'Mother, this is the ticket office and toilet block'

We cruise back to Luxor and even take afternoon tea and cake - how civilised!