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Published: March 25th 2008
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March 21, 22, 23, 2008
Aswan / Luxor, Egypt
We arrived early Friday morning ( Good Friday - Not celebrated here in Egypt ) in Aswan from Cairo and went immediately to our ship, Ramadis I, that will take us to down the Nile River to Luxor via Edfu.
This morning we took a small boat up the Nile River from Aswan to visit a local Nubian village and see the sights along the Nile near the old Aswan Dam Site. This was an interesting way to spent a few hours before checking into our room on the Ramadis I. The Nubian people of this part of Egypt were probably the most affected by the dams that were built as they lived on the river and had to be moved when the lakes were formed behind the dams.
The Nile is obviously the center of activity in all of Egypt as it cuts through the country from The Sudan to the Mediterranean Sea. The rest of the country is pretty much desert and the water from the Nile and the lakes have created a lot more arable land. The small farms along the river are quite beautiful
with the steeply rising river banks and sand dunes in the background.
Our day continued with some relaxing on the ship and a short walk around the dock area in Aswan. Wow !! Does it get hot here ! The locals laughed as this is nothing compared to the over 50 C they get in the summer.
Saturday morning was a short bus ride through Aswan to the site of the High Aswan Dam that was built in the late 60’s with the help of the Russians. This was a huge project and it changed the face of Egypt with lots of electrical power and a very large lake that backs up into The Sudan. The additional water reserves made for a huge increase in farm production and the additional electrical power allowed the country to develop more industry.
After the visit to the dam we visited an important ancient temple and the site of one of the ancient quarries that was used to provide the granite for the many sites in Egypt. If it’s granite it probably came from a quarry near Aswan. Granite was carved from the quarries and sent down the Nile to the many temples
north of Aswan.
Our trip north continued through Edfu where we visited another large temple site and continued on to Luxor.
The cruise on the Nile is a very nice trip with beautiful scenery and the many farms along the river. Unfortunately there is a pollution issue here with some agricultural burning, the exhaust from the many ships on the river and a few thermal plants along the way. In spite of this it is a great way to travel and very relaxing with good accommodation on board and good meals. This is a very worthwhile adventure for anyone coming to Egypt and a very good way to see the most important archaeological sites.
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