Aswan

Thursday, December-23-10  11:30 PM

We came directly to our hotel in Aswan yesterday after arriving via the sleeper train. It is set in the centre of the town right on the Nile. The view from the outdoor restaurant is lovely. Our room has a view somewhat obstructed by plants and trees outside. This cover prevents the room from becoming too hot, so it is appreciated. Cairo had been quite cool in the evenings and warm during the day. Here in Aswan it is hot during the day, probably over 30C by noon, cooler in the morning and overnight. In the summer the weather here is very hot – often over 40C. We had some spare time after we arrived but despite all of the sleep on the train most of us were tired and wanted some down time. At 3PM we went together down a series of stone steps leading from the hotel patio to jump onto a felucca, a small sailing boat with one large sail at the front, held aloft by a very high, curved mast. For the next three and half hours we moved along the Nile close to the downtown area, seeing the various islands, some distant mausoleums, and, an island once owned by the Lord Kitchener of ‘conquest of the Sudan’ fame, which he had made into a gorgeous botanical garden. By sundown around five-thirty there was little wind for the sail so progress was made by increasingly slow tacking movements from one side to the other. Without a motor the ride was quiet and peaceful, lovely especially after the sun had set.

We left the boat at one side of the largest island, Elephant Island, which is home to a Nubian community. We were scooped up by two pick-up trucks, open to the air with board seats along the back. We rode in these across the island to a home/restaurant run by a Nubian family. We were shown to an area inside the compound which had mats placed over sand. The walls of the area were painted a sea blue to represent the Nile. Here we were served a large meal of chicken, rice, some vegetables, pop, water, tea, and cut up sweet oranges. Another group was eating below where we sat. When they finished the men of the family played some instruments and sang and danced and got the others to join in. It was quite festive. After eating we were put back into our pick-up truck taxis and ferried to another landing for a quick return to the hotel via motorboat.  We went to bed immediately knowing that our wake-up call would be at 2:15AM

We were called so early as the 4:30 flight to Abu Simbel was the only one available – all other flights were full. We were up and in the lobby like obedient children at 3AM for our ride to the airport. We went through two layers of security, bags and ourselves through the machines, pat-downs each time. Onto the plane – small, holding about 80 people and the brief flight  -- c, 35 minutes. Passing over Abu Simbel we could see the Temples of Ramses II and Nefertari below. Arrival, bus, along the walkway to the temples, explanations about what we would see; into the temples – astonishing stuff: gigantic statues and etchings on stone walls of Ramses II in his roles as conqueror (especially of the Hittite peoples) and, as the anointed of the gods. Amazing always to stand with these pieces of art and to connect with the fact that about 5000 years ago people like us were working on them. The figures are beautifully portrayed, especially those on the walls. A short distance from Ramses’ temple is that of his favourite wife, Nefertari (he had about 65, and close to 200 children). She is shown there in roles as a priestess and as a wife in loving poses with her husband.

These temples were located in the area to be covered by Lake Nasser when the project for the large Aswan dam was conceived in the 1950s. A huge effort involving teams from many countries and thousands of workers protected and then disassembled, transported, and put together these temples, faithful to their components, on higher ground. It`s an astonishing feat of engineering. Other smaller temples and statues were also rescued, some of which were given to the countries participant.

Once we had seen both temples, it was back to the bus, to the airport, to the security checks, the flight, the van, and finally, the hotel. It was then 9AM. It was fortunate that we had to go so early as we were the first groups at the temples, making the crowds entirely bearable. As we left bus load after bus load poured into the site and the day began to heat up. The rest of the day was mercifully free. I slept for a couple of hours, then walked about the souk (market) across from our hotel with Mark. It was noon then and quite hot but we did manage a bit of bargaining with the sellers who pursued us relentlessly about the great deals they wanted to lay on us. They would often start with the line: just 5 pounds – then it would be 130 pounds, because of course they had been referring to English pounds. It takes real energy to conduct business with these dudes.

We had some lunch on the hotel patio, then resting, snoozing, walking out, supper, bargains, the internet cafe, and bed. While we were walking in the park nearby a little girl and a boy pressed around me, begging me to buy something or other. I tried to keep them back but especially the little girl was very persistent, pressing up against me with whatever it was she had. Later I discovered that she had managed to clean out both of the side pockets that I have in my semi-cargo pants. Luckily she didn’t take my Visa and bank cards and I had only about 400 Pounds – c. $75 in them. It might have been a lot worse.

It is now Saturday, Dec 25 – Christmas morning. I will try to get this post off before we leave Aswan this afternoon. I am two days behind because of the difficulty in gaining access to Wi-Fi. I hope everyone is well and is enjoying their snowy Christmas break.  Remember to scroll to the bottom for the other photos. Brenda.