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| Nubian Village, Aswan |
Thirteen hours later, we arrived to early morning Aswan. Aswan was once the ancient city of Syene, the largest trading centre in the Nile Valley. Here convoys of goods on camel trains arrived from Africa and the Mediterranean. Merchants bartered and sold in bustling souks, caravanserais housed weary travellers, hammams (bathhouses) refreshed them and tea shops proliferated. What a difference to Cairo and Alexandria though! This was chunking Egypt down to a manageable size.
Or so we thought......
First destination in our Nubian Dynasty discovery was the Island of Philae near the Old Dam on the Nile. The island was once thought to be the source of the Nile. Its cornerstone is a small (by Egyptian standards) temple built during the Ptolemaic period (332-30 BC), dedicated to Isis, mother goddess of healing. Needless to say the site has many remains of earlier and later constructions. In all it’s quite romantic and could easily be seen as the source of many a modern-day stage set. I could just imagine Diaghilev’s ballet troupe in their Picasso designed costumes prancing about the monuments.
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| Island of Philae |
We were driven back to Aswan via the Aswan Dam lookout point and managed a stop to take necessary “I was there” photos of Lake Nasser, the largest man-made lake. This huge dam finally put man in control of the Nile – for better or worse.
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Felucca Eva Stahl and her trusty Captain
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Back to our day of more romantic interludes, we enlisted Captain el Tayib and crew on the felucca Eva Stahl to take us on an expedition until sunset. We floated in the now peaceful First Cataract, passing the Tombs of the Nobles, Aga Khan’s mausoleum, St Simeon’s Monastery and Nubian villages. We stopped briefly (and unexpectedly) on Elephantine Island to visit a Nubian home and crocodile museum. That’s what happens when you are a captive audience.
Sunset was nearly on us and we had a date at the Old Cataract Hotel for high tea. This evocative hotel built in 1902 was once visited by Agatha Christie who famously wrote “Death on the Nile” in 1937. Sir Winston Churchill was no slouch either, having also visited. We all sat sipping mint tea, polishing off trays of fresh sandwiches and cakes but it wasn’t about the food. It was about the sunset - and realizing that we were sitting in the best place to finally grasp the meaning of travel and discovery. Over the eons many others have sat and been inspired by Egypt’s monuments too. “Now” is over in a flash too soon.
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| High Tea on the Old Cataract Hotel Terrace |
Our evening's task had been set by Athena. We were to comb Aswan’s famous 2km of Sharia el Souk for a galabia or two to wear to a costume party set for our cruise down the Nile. The souk was fun, it was hard work, and of course we bought far more than we needed. Who could resist colourful scarves, cotton shirts, leather bags, spicy perfumes, fine glass bottles, intricate carpets, spices, teas and cats! As Mr DIY had retreated to the Cleopatra Hotel, our deserted (male) travelling companion achieved souk notoriety. He was highly complemented on his collection of wives, and offered a camel in exchange. We, the mature ladies of the trip, then proceeded to giggle madly for rest of our shopping expedition. Do we ever grow up?
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| Sunset over Aswan from the Old Cataract Hotel |
(And just one more of the lateen rigged feluccas as a nod to our sailing lives and to a craft that has been plying the waters of the Nile since ancient times ....)
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| Traditional design that still works well |
