The land that forgot time

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Everyone knows about all the ancient stuff here, lots of temples and ruins and stuff…almost like the land that time forgot. Cleverly, the Egyptians have also managed to mix it up a bit and create the land that forgot time, or at least how to tell it, or stick by it, or pay any attention to it at all! Lucky we’re in beautiful Aswan, on the banks of the Nile so we have plenty of opportunity to soak up the ambience while we’re doing our waiting.

Arrived at our Nubian Farm under the cover of darkness - an eerie experience for those of us who hadn’t completely succumbed to jet lag and passed out. Our boat wove through the tall granite protrusions of the river under the light of Aga Khan’s illuminated mausoleum high on the sandy dune, before pulling up to the banks and we scrambled up the hill and past the crocodiles to the welcome comfort of our beds.

A surprisingly good sleep by all before a long wait for breakfast and a trip back into town to catch a taxi to the kayak pick up. Another quick motorboat trip to collect the kayaks and we were on our way, paddling across the Nile in view of Philae temple. A peaceful paddle around before a quick zip back to be collected for our next trip to Elephantine Island.

An interesting rundown of the area’s history and its importance for the Nubian people and its centre for worship of Satet, wife of Khnum, the ram headed god. Also fascinating to hear of the different ethnicities the area has experienced and accompanying religions. But it was hot and we were hungry, and really, the gods can wait.

All good in theory, but our disregard for their importance apparently offended the gods and there was no wind to be had to power our felucca. So there was much wondering, and waiting, some more wondering, even some pondering, all the while the hunger grew and we went nowhere. Eventually we conceded defeat and went back from whence we came and walked through the village to the restaurant on the other side of the island.

Some more waiting, because we were getting good at admiring the view by now, and finally lunch arrived. And cats, always cats. The view was much better on a full stomach. Just ask the cats.

The gods had apparently moved on to something else because we had enough wind to power us to Kitchener Island which used to be used by the Nubians for planting but taken over by the British Empire as a botanical garden. In keeping with the theme of past glory, Geoff relived his days as a Jordanian celebrity, this time with the teenaged boys of Egypt who couldn’t get enough of him. A wander around the gardens before a boat trip back to our farm.

Not to be outdone by our lunch experience, our dinner chef made sure we had ample time to observe and soak up the atmosphere of Nile-side dining.

Some more opportunities for soaking this morning, this time under time pressure, always enjoyable, as we were being picked up for our bird watching. Something we had never appreciated before was this area of Aswan, around the cataract, where there are 45 islands, supporting a surprisingly large amount of bird life. Our trip this morning took us around the reeds and canals of the islands, seeking out a wide variety of herons (grey, white and purple), kingfishers, swamp hens, ducks, an osprey, some flamingoes and loads more that I can’t remember. Luckily not too much flapping near my head.

To the dock for a pickup to travel to Kalabsha temple, for the Nubian god Mandulis, built by emperor Augustus. We were absolutely amazed when we arrived in the boat over Lake Nasser together with the guy who had the keys to let us in. The only other visitor was a delightful dog who was overjoyed to welcome us.

Our guide showed us around the temple and explained the various reliefs, depicting offerings being made to the gods by an unknown king, as he had an empty cartouche. A fascinating representation of history with inscriptions from various periods and in a number of languages on the walls. We then moved to the temple of Beit al Wali which was dedicated to Ramsses II, who clearly rated himself highly, depicting scenes of dominance over the Nubians, stealing their animals, and hanging out with his mates the gods.

We bade farewell to our happy dog companion and headed back to Aswan for some lunch (pleasingly quick!) before putting our transport back to the Farm in the hands of the timing gods. They smiled upon us and bestowed a lovely old-timer on us who showed us some more bird life on our way back. An afternoon of relaxation before the inevitable atmosphere soaking before dinner tonight.

Just to work up an appetite (and also because the power went off), we decided to take a stroll in the dunes behind the farm. Wow, they look tall, and they’re really sandy, let’s see if we can’t cause our poor suffering mother a coronary by insisting she climb them to see the view. Still deciding if it was worth it, but it was pretty spectacular.

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