Aswan

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We are leaving on a felucca tomorrow for three days and three nights sailing on the Nile to a village outside Edfu village, or, at least we think we are going on a felucca trip - it's been a bit vague but we think we have cut a deal with a man called Captain Washington. Everyone in Aswan seems to know Captain Washington so we think he must be a man to be reckoned with.

The felucca captains here have names as colourful as their personalities - Captain Jack Sparrow, Captain Flamingo, Captain Hash etc. And some are so colourful as to be on the blacklist of felucca captains to not go sailing with which the tourist office in Aswan will gladly share with you if you are trying to organise a felucca trip on your own.

Aswan has been a pleasant change from Cairo. It's a much smaller place and the people are a mix of Egyptian of Arabic descent and those of Nubian descent (or the Kushites as they were known in the Old Testament). The people involved in the tourist industry are a less pushy bunch than the Cairenes and pretty much leave you alone when you tell them no thanks. Because of that we dared venture into a spice shop and were shown around by a very entertaining young man who told us all about the weird and wonderful herbs, spices and woods for cooking, healing, perfuming etc.

The riverfront in Aswan is pretty without feeling overdeveloped. The main part overlooks a small island called Elephantine, and beyond, to the East Bank where some ancient tombs are nestled in rocky sandy dunes. There are many feluccas going up and down the river and it all adds to the perfect picture postcard of the Egyptian Nile. We went to a restaurant called the Nubian House because it was described in our guide as a cosy little restaurant with great views of the Nile from a vantage point (it's up on a little hill on the east bank). Anyway we got there and it was no longer the 'little' place described in our ourdated guide - it was positively heaving with tour groups. And we discovered why. We saw the sun set from Nubian House and it was one of the most beautiful sunsets I have seen in a long time aahhh....

The highlight of our time in Aswan must surely be the visit to Abu Simbel to look at the temples which were salvaged with the help of UNESCO when the Aswan High Dam was built and flooded much of Upper Egypt. The temples are awe-inspiring and are really something special. I made Rob close his eyes and led him right to the front so that he could have the full 'WOW' factor when he opened his eyes. I think he was impressed.

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