It's the "Weekend"!

It is our day off!   Fridays are sort of the equivalent to western Sundays, as Friday is the day of prayer for Muslims.  Being so close to a mosque, this does mean it’s pretty loud in our apartment complex today though.  Our workers will attend morning prayer, or pray on their own at their apartment.   Some will have returned home to Luxor to be with their families. They’ve had a busy week moving heaving blocks, so we are happy they are resting.  Mostly today we will do some work and read and relax.  I have to move out of my room though and into the kitchen, because we have another person coming and we have to shuffle the living arrangements.  It's kind of hot in there, but not much worse than my old room. 

The sun setting over the cultivation west of Edfu.

Our neighbors feeding their animals.

Last night, we all spent the evening on the roof drinking (while alcohol is prohibited by Islam, foreigners can purchase alcohol from duty-free shops in airports and in Luxor) and watching the sun set.  I got some absolutely beautiful photos, and a good view of the area around our house.   We are right on the edge of the town, near the cultivation.  Our neighbors include several donkeys, a herd of goats, a pregnant horse, geese, chickens, ducks, and a turkey, along with a variety of Egyptians young and old.  While quieter than some of the other places we have stayed, which were along the main street of Edfu, there is still a lot of noise.  The donkey in particular likes to make a lot of noise, especially in the middle of the night.  Egyptians keep their animals pretty much everywhere- houses under construction, like the house to our west, are particularly common.  We even see animals like goats and chickens kept on the roof.  

From the roof, you can see just how close we are to the temple. We are within walking distance, which means each morning we walk there, at around 5:50am.  Archaeologists have to be morning people, if they don’t want to risk heat stroke!  You can also see just how many houses are under construction in Edfu- pretty much every building is in some state of construction or repair- this is because in Egypt, you don't pay taxes on buildings which are not complete, so pretty much everything is "under construction".  

Tomorrow, we start excavation officially.  I'm very excited to get to work in my area!