Happi Hotel Aswan

... for 3 months (Italy, syria, isreal...) There were also 5 guys my age from san diego. It was perfect just to sit and tell stories of where we were from, where we were going, read, or just sleep-which was very much needed - i slept more on the felucca than I had anywhere else - it was so subliminal and surreal. We arrived the next morning and visited Edfu and Ko Ombo.<br>

... our plans and went to Philae Temple in Aswan that afternoon. Quite well preserved, this was one of the temples moved by UNESCO when the Aswan High Dam was constructed. <br><br>Back to the hotel and met up with those from the group who took the seater train and ended up being even later and went out for dinner.<br><br>Next morning was an early start for everyone with the convoy for Abu Simbel leaving at 4.30am, for everyone except me and my ...

... Mohamed has been moving us firmly and unflinchingly forward - on our first day, we went to the incredible Egyptian Museum - stuffed to the gunnels with 5000 years of history including the miraculous tablets from the Old Kingdom through to the statues of the heretic Pharoh Aken-aton and of course the phenomenal treasures of Tutanakhen - habibis, it is impossible to describe how beautiful, striking and finely made these items are - we simply cannot produce ...

... towards Luxor. We are not sure yet whether to do a one or two night trip (leaning towards the one night) as having spent three days on a boat to Timbuktu we know that it can get a little boring after too long. If we do the one night option we will get off at Kom Ombo and getting buses up to Luxor, otherwise we'll do two nights and get off at Edfu. The weather down here is much much warmer than in Cairo, and it was about 35 degrees yesterday and shaping up to be the same today. The heat ...

... by Cleopatra's father Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysis. I think we took a photo of Ptolemy XII being presented to Horus the elder by Isis and the lion headed godess Raettawy, with Thoth looking on. We all came across some reliefs that we hadn't seen before. There is one of a godess &#8211; whom I am not sure who it is, wearing a dress with a floral print on it. However on closer looking, it is actually a fur of an animal complete with tail and paws. Pete<br>also discovered his ...

... done.<br>I met up with other people on the tour who I was hanging out with the most and I ended up doing a big of bargaining for them. The funny thing is, one of them is Colombian where they do bargaining when they shop.<br>On the walk back through the market to get back to the hotel, we chatted a bit to a young guy who was selling papyrus (paper that was used back in the pharaoh days in Egypt). It seems he was quite smitten with me. I didn't want to buy any of ...

... Mustafa and Mahmud kept chuckling. I have definitely given them much to laugh and talk about.<br><br>Nora tried to check with Mona about my request to detour and take the bridge over the Canal instead of the tunnel. For whatever reason, they wouldnt take the route and so went back the same way and straight to the airport to take a flight to Aswan.<br><br>It was a late flight about 10.30 pm and so it mean at least 3 hours ...

... say &#8220;OK, I tell you&#8221; like he was about to let us in on some great secret. <br> <br>While Mohammed was talking to us, the youths working in the enclosures got a little over enthusiastic in showing the camels off. First they unsuccessfully tried to get a young camel to sit down by hitting it with a stick and grabbing its ears and tail. Then they tried to get an adult to sit on its front legs while standing on its back ...

... out clouds of diesel fumes. There was also much to seen along the riverbanks too, with birdlife, livestock and over-excited teenage boys catching sight of seven foreign girls on our felucca. <br><br>The boat&#8217;s mobile cassette player was on the blink, and Ayup had to do some MacGyver-style imaginative repairs to get the sound system cranking again. Digital music may be phasing out CDs at home, but I ...