Aswan
Trip Start
Dec 16, 2004
1
14
21
Trip End
Jan 17, 2005
Aswan,
Egypt
Tuesday, January 4, 2005
Our arrival was quite nice with a proper hotel to stay in (Happi Hotel)--although without electricity for many parts of the day which also means no water...but I'm used to it by now
Abu Simbel
! We spent yesterday afternoon exploring the city and the zigzagging streets of the bazaar. It's funny to hear that shopkeepers yell out where they think you are from. The default guess here is Australia and they yell "Goodaye mate from Captain Cook!" It's really very odd. I have been gorging myself on these delicious peanuts that they roast in the sand of the Nile riverbank and then lightly salt--I've never had anything like it before. Last night we took a boat to a Nubian village about 15 minutes south on the Nile. The Nubians came in the early part of the 1900s and are from Sudan. The British government built the first dam on the Nile to help control the flooding that wreaked havoc each season. Thus, the Nubians moved in along the banks to farm the land. Unfortunately, the British ingenuity was not perfect and the dam was not big enough to contain the Nile waters. Since then, the Nubians have been a highly marginalized population here trying to work the land and the water. Most of the boat operators are Nubian. We had a lovely dinner of many familiar things: potatoes, rice,
chicken, meat, pasta! We spent about 3 hours with the Nubians while they sang and danced and did henna tattoos for the ladies. It's absolutely gorgeous floating down the Nile at night with all of the lights from the banks. We passed the Old Cataract hotel where Agatha Christie is said to have written her book "Death on the Nile."
Today we set out on a 4am journey to the great temples at Abu Simbel
Entrance to Abu Simbel
. Many of the temples and whatnot have been moved through UNESCO projects. Because of the Aswn dam that replaced the crappy British one, Lake Nasser was created and thus threatened the existence of temples which lined the banks. Over 4 years, the temples were taken apart bit by bit and moved to higher ground. Abu Simbel is the great temple of Ramses II and a smaller one dedicated to his wife Nefertari. You may know this temple as the one that has four giant statues in a sitting position out front. Again, no words can begin to descibe these monuments. The hierglyphics inside the temple are so well preserved and much more intricate than I had imagined. I sat forever at one wall that detailed Ramses' heroic battles and military victories. It's breathtaking to see these scenes of their lives...to see the ways in which they interpreted their lives and existence, what was important to them at that time. Again, no words can describe it.
Bree and I spent the afternoon wandering the markets of Aswan and had pizza for lunch. This evening I went with a few others to the Philae temple, about a 15 minute journey by taxi and then boat from Aswan. This is another temple that was moved by UNESCO. This temple was built to honor and worship Isis. They do a semi-cheesy light and sound show at the temple with narration telling the story of Isis and the history of the temple while you walk through it
Feluccas on the Nile in Aswan
. It was amazing to see and even more interesting to learn the fate of this temple through Roman, Chistian and then Muslim times. It was strange that even the early Christians continued to worship Isis at this temple!!! So here I am typing to you all while I gaze out over the Nile River (are you jealous?). Tomorrow we depart at 10am for our 3 day felucca journey. A felucca is a traditional sailboat powered only by the wind and has absolutely no 'facilities'. We will stop at some temples along the way, but mostly just laze about as we make our way north to Luxor. Thus, you probably won't hear from me for 3-4 days. I hope you are all enjoying your 2005!
