I have definitely found summer here!!
Trip Start
Jun 29, 2008
1
27
58
Trip End
Nov 27, 2008
Aswan,
Egypt
Saturday, September 6, 2008
On arrival, after settling into our lovely hotel (our hotels have been amazing this trip), we headed off to see the Philae Temple. This amazingly preserved temple, dedicated to the goddess Isis, was painstakingly moved, bit by bit, from the original island (which was soon to become submerged completely) to its current island. Prior to the move, which took 4 years, you could take boat rides amongst the largely submerged temple. Strangely, in moving the temple they chose an island not quite large enough to fit this main temple and the other 5 smaller temples that accompanied it. In order to fit, they thus moved one wall of the main reception area (where all comers were welcome) in a number of metres.
Philae Temple
Why they did not just choose a larger island I have no idea, as it is not a great thing to have done. Prior to the move, which took 4 years, you could take boat rides amongst the largely submerged temple.In spite of the alterations to the temples original shape, it is an impressive structure. The carvings on the inside and outside of the walls cannot be done justice to by photographs - you lose the depth and detail of the work. The temple was constructed by the Ptolemies in Egyptian design. It was subsequently used by both the Graeco-Romans (with changes made to the design of the tops of some of the columns) and by the Christians who carved crosses into the walls, at times where the face of one of the gods had been. When the Arabs came, thankfully much of the temple was covered in sand, as that part not covered was deliberately damaged with chisels by the Arabs who did not like the images of the pagan gods.
Later in the day, we went on a marvellous felucca cruise in the Nile. It was incredibly peaceful. Some of the tours actually float down the Nile on these for 3 days, and I think it would be incredibly relaxing, as long as you had a compatible group of people on board.
The following day, we rose early for a flight down to the temples of Abu Simbel, where there is the colossal temple of Ramses II and the smaller adjacent temple dedicated to his second wife, Nefertiti. This temple to Nefertiti is one of only 2 temples dedicated to women, the other being that of Hatshepsut, who ruled as a pharaoh.
Pylon, Philae temple
These temples have also been moved from their original location (a UNESCO project) as they would have been flooded by the 500km long Lake Nasser that resulted from the creation of the High Dam. It was a massive project. The temples were actually carved out of a mountain side so, in order to present them as they originally were, they created a man-made hill-side in which to place the temples. The statues of Ramses are 30m tall - that will give you an idea of the dimensions of this place.We spent our afternoon lazing by the pool at our hotel, before heading to the Botanical Gardens on Kitchener island, which were really lovely (and the home of many stray cats), before heading to our gruelling climb up the sand dunes. I had taken a piece of cardboard in the hope of tobogganing back down, but it just does not work on this kind of sand. It was quite disappointing.
The yesterday morning, we had a free morning around the pool before boarding our cruise boat in the afternoon. This was a lucky coincidence as yesterday was the hottest day by far, greater than 40 degrees celcius and with no wind. We hid inside for the afternoon, sleeping and reading. After dinner, we headed out to the markets to start honing our bargaining skills. They were incredibly busy with locals and tourists alike. Unfortunately, the majority of the Egyptians are very in your face trying to sell things to you - and I mean, literally in your face (about 1cm from it on some occasions). However, there were some nice ones who lived up to their promise of "no hassle" and Ben was even offered 10 million camels for me!!
Amazingly I am able to write this now as we are still moored in Aswan. Many of the boats passengers still had to visit Abu Simbel this morning (a change in plans), so we don't leave until after lunch, meaning more cruising after dark tonight. However, somehow wifi is available and so I was able to update the blog. Might have trouble with photos again though as the connection is tenuous on occasions, something I am getting more used to.
