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Published: October 27th 2022
After another uneventful drive from Alexandria we were back in Cairo and headed to the train station for the overnight train to Aswan...cool! Was looking forward to this, trains are one of my favourite modes of transportation, an easy and relaxing way to both cover ground and see the countryside...as most of the trip was at night we wouldn't see a whole lot but did have the morning fortunately to catch our first glimpses of the Nile and some greenery after all the desert and sand of the previous couple of days...a good laugh as well, our cabin opened to the one beside us with Bruno and Allan, some funny times...and lo and behold there was my bag waiting for me at the station! With clothing options starting to get a little thin it was a welcome sight, and it was fortunate that another Intrepid guide/group happened to be at the hotel in Cairo when it arrived and grabbed it for me, sweet!
We arrived late morning in Aswan, and after a quick transfer and dumpage of our bags we were off to our first stop: Philae. An island-based temple complex in the reservoir of the Aswan Low Dam, it
was said to be one of the burying places of Osiris and one of the last places where the ancient Egyptian religion survived after the arrival of Christianity. The temple was established as part of the cult of Isis and remained an important pilgrimage site well into the Christian era, particularly for Nubian populations.
We began with a pleasant ferry ride to Philae, where disembarking we started at one of the oldest monuments of Philae, the Kiosk of Nectanebo before making our way to the forecourt of the Temple of Isis...we then followed our guide Ahmed through various gateways, courtyards, and inner rooms learning about the history of the place, most impressively that the whole complex had been moved from its original island to preserve it from floods and water damage! Still can't wrap my head around the enormity of that task...
The setting and architecture were quite beautiful, and as it was our first temple complex it really left an impression...the hieroglyphs and carvings stood out the most for me, hard to believe the age and in some cases the scale, absolutely loved them...
Made our way back to the mainland and we were off to
our next stop of the afternoon: the Philae Perfumes Palace...yes you read that right, we stopped in for some lunch and a lesson on the science of perfumery (?), and while somewhat interesting (the lunch was delicious though) this really ain't my bag, especially when the soft/hard sell starts...all part of the tours, can't blame folks for trying to make a buck, but onwards we move in this blog...
Back to the hotel for a bit of a rest before the evening's activities: a felucca ride, visit to a Nubian village and dinner with a local family...
Felucca first, made our way down to the boat and in no time were into the fray, leisurely cruising up and down the Nile with other boats of all shapes and sizes, a beautiful evening admiring the sights along the coastline...what a civilized way to cruise, if I'm ever back in this neck of the woods again I would certainly look at doing more...
Sun was setting now so we docked at Elephantine Island and disembarked to begin our visit to a Nubian village (Nubians are indigenous to the regions of southern Egypt and northern Sudan, and considered one of
Ahmed and I
...my new Nubian friend and wonderful host...the oldest civilizations in the world). We were met by our host for the evening, the lovely Ahmed, and after introductions were made we began our brief but very cool tour of the village, ending up at his family's home where we would be spending the evening chatting and having dinner...wonderful stories from Ahmed, learned about his life, the village and Nubian culture in general...he really struck a chord in me, thoroughly enjoyed the chat, asking questions back and forth and the hang in general...and a pleasure meeting his extended family, they couldn't have been more welcoming...the food was excellent, music and dancing a lot of fun, all in all a great experience...apparently you can stay in the village as well, and as it is only a 5 minute boat-taxi ride to the mainland I would love to hang out there if ever back in the region, it was so peaceful and quiet compared to the city, very nice!
That concluded the brief but plentiful agenda in Aswan, off to Abu Simbel the following morning...we did spend another day or so in Aswan upon returning from Abu Simbel but spent most of it relaxing on the boat we would
be cruising the Nile on...
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RENanDREW
Ren & Andrew
Perfumes?
Many years ago, someone once gave me a gift of a perfume when they returned from Egypt (which I thought was a bit of a weird present) - it all makes sense now :) How nice to finally get your bag back!