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Published: June 20th 2010
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Luxor south to Aswan and back to Cairo
It was an early start this morning to go over to the West Bank to the Valley of the Kings. Our mode of transport started with a ferry to the other side where we met our donkeys for an hour’s walk to the tombs. The beast I was assigned was playing up at the start, nipping the other donkeys and being pushy, I tried to swap him, but the guide said this was the donkey for me. He turned out to be a great donkey and only nipped at a few of his stable mates on our journey. When donkeys speed up you bounce, it’s not like a gallop, more like a hop. Two people fell off, fortunately not me!
We explored three major tombs on the site, there are around 60 or more excavated at present. The last one was stunning, the original colours still vibrant, and the drawings still mostly intact. The scale of these tombs for the Kings is staggering.
Then onto Aswan, three hours up the road. The hotel is in the market area, so it’s impossible to avoid the jackals here. We left at 4am to join a
convoy to Abu Simbel. A three hour drive to the site, with viewing time of two hours and then rejoin the convoy to return to Aswan. If you miss the 1pm convoy you have to wait till the next one at 4pm. Abu Simbel was a tomb built by Ramses II to glorify himself and one for his beloved wife. When the upper Aswan dam was build the temples were going to be flooded and lost. The Egyptian government with the help of UNESCO moved two of them to higher ground. It was a massive feat to achieve and have it looking as if it was always there. The only main difference is that the sunlight previously entered the temple on the 21st of March and October and illuminated three of four statues at the rear, now this happens on the 22nd.
After retuning we headed off for an overnight trip on a felucca. A traditional way to travel up and down the Nile. Unfortunately we ran out of wind and had to be towed to our mooring for the evening. The swimming was fabulous, the water cool and refreshing. I’m told if you swim in the Nile you will
return to Egypt. A bit like tossing a coin into the Trevi Fountain ensuring your return to Rome. Dinner was at a Namibian home on an island in the Nile. Our host brought a bucket out early on and I really was wondering what we were going to be fed, visualising chronic food poisoning on my train journey tonight. But instead he lifted out two three month old crocodiles, about 8” long. The creature was passed around the group until one of the boys stuck his finger in its mouth, and of course baby croc decided to bite down. His razor sharp baby teeth drew blood. I got confused with the story, but I believe they are released in the high dam and will grow to about 3 metres. Dinner was fabulous and so far I’ve not got any signs of poisoning. The ladies of the house bought out their crafts for us to look at and hopefully buy. The beading work was exquisite. We returned or our boat and slept on mattresses on the open deck, with little or no air movement it was pretty hot.
Now I’m back in Aswan, sitting in Mcdonalds overlooking the Nile. What a
fabulous view this place has! I came here to get the free internet, but it’s not working; so after a surprisingly good coffee I’m killing a bit of time till the train leaves tonight. A few of us have booked sleepers, it’s going to be luxury, even on this train! Hopefully I’ll be able to get some sleep and will be fighting fit to take on Cairo’s Grand Bazaar tomorrow! The way I feel now with the stall holders is that I will not be pushed about, they can bully you, and when they do just walk away. Yesterday at Abu Simbel one of them tried to sell me two postcards and stamps for £125. That’s about $25. When I offered him £10 he went into a rage at me.
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