So it begins

Temples, glorious temples

Published Date : November 25, 2004

It was an early morning start, made even earlier by the imman’s morning call to prayer from the microphone less than 3m from our room.  Truthfully, daylight couldn’t come early enough for me.  There was a stray mosquito (with a dozen close friends) in the room last night and they took a serious liking to me.  The only way I could get away from them was to pull the blankets over my head, but it was too hot to sleep that way.  I counted a total of 26 bites on my face and neck this morning.  Gah!

Our destination this morning was Philae Temple.  Our mode of transport was a boat, and upon reaching the island in the middle of the Nile, our driver joined in with the other hundred boat drivers for the biggest game of bumper boats ever recorded.  It was literally a free for all, as each captain jockeyed for position as close to the docks as he could.  Even with all this pushing and shoving, we still had to climb through three other boats before we made it to dry land.  If that doesn’t wake you up first thing in the morning, I don’t know what will!

The temple itself was truly fascinating.  Just before the Aswan Dam was built, archaeologists moved the original temple brick by brick to its current location on a slightly higher island a bit further downstream.  When the dam was completed the original island was completely submerged in the flood.  We had a guide as usual, but I’ve got to admit I’m not much for paying attention to them.  I really prefer to go off and explore on my own, or find a quiet corner to appreciate the moment.  And that’s what I did.  I found a secluded little patch of grassland and soaked up the wonder of being on a tiny island in the middle of the Nile in Southern Egypt on an incredibly beautiful and sunny day.

Leaving the island was a repeat of landing, and after going through the gauntlet of boats at the dock, the rest of the journey back to Aswan was exceptionally peaceful.

We had another free afternoon, so I headed off the visit the Nubian Museum.  Another casualty of the Aswan Dam was the Nubian people of Egypt.  Pretty much all of their lands were flooded by the building of the dam, so they formed this museum in Aswan to try and preserve some of their culture.  It was small, but very well done, and definitely worth the visit.  After the museum it was an afternoon of errands: checked my email, bought some food for the trip to Abu Simbel tomorrow.  I did some shopping as well and bought a silver cartoush (a pendant with a name written in hieroglyphics) for everyone in my family. Each one cost me only 30LE (about $5).

I was still hounded by shop keepers and touts everywhere I went, but I didn’t find them nearly as troublesome today.  Talking to some other travelers while I was at the internet café, they found the people in Aswan to be quite aggressive and threatening.  As annoying as it is to be hassled everywhere you go, I didn’t find it to be at all intimidating once I got used to it.

Abu Simbel

Published Date : November 26, 2004

We were up at 3am to join our convoy out to Abu Simbel.  Until very recently you actually couldn’t drive to Abu Simbel because of rebel/bandit activity and could only reach the site by small plane.  But times have changed and the roads have been re-opened, and what an amazing road it is.  Driving through the open desert at sunrise is something I highly recommend to everybody.  Wow!  Stunning scenery!

That’s not to say that the drive was entirely without incident.  The lead military vehicle had to smash through a blockade of burning cars on the road at one point!  Nothing came of it though.

We arrived at Abu Simbel at about 7:00am in the freezing cold – that’s the desert for you, a furnace in the day and a freezer overnight.  As per usual, I ditched the guide and the rest of my group and went for a wander by myself.  Abu Simbel is another priceless archaeological site that was consumed by the floodwaters of the Aswan Dam.  Like Philae Temple, the twin temples of Abu Simbel were painstakingly relocated to a new site on higher ground prior to the completion of the dam.

While the tour guides directed everyone else through the Great Temple, I took the opportunity to explore the smaller temple on my own.  With only two other people in the building, I was finally granted a taste of what it might have been like for the explorers who first rediscovered these sites. 

When the hordes descended on the smaller temple, I took my leave and nipped back over to the Great Temple which was now almost empty as well.  I found the entire site of Abu Simbel to be fascinating. I could have spent hours studying all the carvings and hieroglyphics.  Truly remarkable.

Our convoy trip back to Aswan was uneventful.  For dinner, we were taken by boat to a nearby Nubian village for a traditional meal.  It was a fantastic evening with excellent food, hospitable hosts, and a beautiful moonlit boat trip back to Aswan at the end of the night.

What an exceptional day!

Did someone say felucca?

Published Date : November 27, 2004

Today we became sailors…sort of.  It was the start of our three day trip down the Nile on feluccas, traditional wooden sailboats.  Our group was split up onto four boats.  I was aboard the Steinlager, our Captain was Nasser and our cook was Akhmed.  It was a brilliant sunny day, but a bit cool with a strong head wind.

The only excitement of the day was passing under a bridge just north of Aswan.  The bridge is too low for the sails, so passing underneath requires some maneuvering.  We needed to build up enough momentum to coast under the bridge after the sail was dropped.  With the head wind it proved a bit frustrating and took three attempts until we made finally made it through.

Otherwise it was a leisurely day of sightseeing, sunbathing and reading.  I took great enjoyment out of watching the world pass by.  The banks of the river were busy with fisherman, grazing water buffalo and flocks of ibis.  I also found the delineation between the lush and fertile shores of the Nile and the desert beyond quite striking.  The river truly is the lifeblood of this country.

When the last of the light faded, our boats tied up along an uninhabited stretch of shoreline.  We went ashore for dinner and had a great time with our Egyptian hosts singing and dancing around the fire.  Sleeping aboard the boats in the open air was a great way to end the day.