Aswan, Egypt

We arrived in Aswan…along the banks of the Nile river. This is the view from our hotel balcony. We could watch the Feluccas sail by and the horse drawn carriages go along the waterfront. A nice transition after the craziness of Cairo and Alexandria.

The Tombs of the Nobles, which date from the Old and Middle Kingdoms. At the top of the hill is the Kubbet Al-hawa, a small tomb constructed for a local sheik.

We found the one “floating” restaurant that serves cold beer (Muslim country…very little alcohol served!) Luckily, they also served delicious food…baba ghanoug, tahini, clay pot stews (tagens), lentil soup. The view of Elephantine Island and feluccas sailing by as the sun set was stunning!

The next morning we went to Sharia as-Souq…a bazaar selling things such as clothing, spices, perfumes, etc. As usual, my favorite thing to see is the food. Hanging meat is always a winner. Keeps me vegetarian.

The souq in all its glory. We got hassled to no end. “Madame….you come into my store???” Our favorite is the “block” where they get in front of you holding some touristy item and won’t let you by. Or the “where are you from?” and when you say America they saw “Obama!”

We took a felucca ride around the islands. The boat goes much slower than you would think….however it is a peaceful way to travel for a few hours. Many tourists take a multi-day felucca ride up or down the Nile. No toilet..and you sleep on the deck on some slabs of foam. Most we passed were packed with people lined up like sardines. At this point in our trip we will have to pass on this form of travel. We have had our fill!

The “cruisers” that stack up along the Nile. There are 270 of these…so many that there is now a moratorium on the launching of new boats. They are like a floating hotel….most have pools surrounded by astro-turf, restaurants, bars…possibly even a casino. Not my cup of tea.

The west bank…you can take a camel to the 7^th-century Monastery of St. Simeon. Having already experienced riding on a camel we declined, but what a great picture!

We had the felucca drop us off on Elephantine island so that we could go to the Aswan Museum…only to find the museum is “closed”. We decided instead to walk through the Nubian villages. In the 1970’s the Nubian lands were drowned when the High Dam was created. They were forced to rebuild their houses on higher ground or move....so two villages now reside here. While wandering around we mostly encountered herds of sheep. Now on to our dahibya boat ride!