Cruising up the Nile (Aswan to Luxor)
The ‘night train’ to Aswan from Cairo was interesting, to say the least. We slept in seats, tilted back as far as they could go, twisting ourselves up into pretzels, in our efforts to get comfortable. I am so glad that Emirates Airlines hand out eye-masks – anything to block out the glaring light since the trains are lit up all night!
Arriving in Aswan was a welcome relief – it is a world away from Cairo! The pace of life is much slower and the town is small enough to explore on foot. The Nile is really quite beautiful here, with golden sand dunes reaching right down to the water’s edge and scores of white-sailed feluccas (traditional canvas sailing boats of the Nile) gliding around the islands. Our cruise boat, the MS Melodie was moored here, as were a score of others. Aswan takes full advantage of this opportunity by constructing its huge bazaar, crammed with shops and stalls, right down the main street in front of the train station and next to the Nile! Sadly, we didn’t get to stay here long enough to improve our haggling skills!
Our boat is considered one of the best ‘small’ boats on the Nile. I say this because the majority of cruise boats along the Nile look like huge apartment complexes perched on barges – they’re gigantic! Our boat has only about 20 cabins and is ideal for the small groups that travel with Imaginative-Traveller. During our 4-day cruise, we had only about 20 people aboard, but we enjoyed all the amenities of the larger boats, including our own pool, albeit a small one at that! The Melodie has a large sundeck with a Jacuzzi, dip pool and covered terrace. The food was pretty good too, a mix of Egyptian and Western dishes. The overall atmosphere was informal and relaxed, with an excellent service from the friendly staff.
We dumped our stuff off on the Melodie and then headed off on our very own Felucca for an afternoon sail despite the fact we were all exhausted (we were delayed on the train for an extra six hours!). But the sail was quite wonderful; we even stopped off at Elephantine Island to meet up with a Nubian fellow who guided us around the island so we could see first-hand how some Nubians live. Most of their homes here are made with mud-bricks, then white-washed and painted in vibrant colours (and porcelain decorations) reminding me of Spain or Greece.
The Nubians are the local ‘indigenous people’ of Egypt I am told. Many lost their original homes when the Aswan Dam was being built. This particular group relocated to Elephantine Island. Nubians are quite easy to identify as they are very tall and slender and much darker in complexion that other Egyptians. Heading back to our cruiseboat in the late afternoon sun was wonderful and seeing the contrast between the golden sand dunes on one side of the Nile, compared to the lush green farmland on the other was quite astounding and difficult to express in words! The Nile is very clean here in Aswan, and is actually used for drinking water by most of the locals!
ABU SIMBEL
One of the highlights of my trip was our excursion to Abu Simbel. Despite our early wake-up call (three thirty), this trip was amazing. The temples at Abu Simbel are located deep in the heart of the desert, miles from anywhere. In order to reach the site, we had to rise at 3:30 AM and join a Police Convoy. In many parts of Egypt, it is necessary for travelers to be accompanied by high security (as a result of some attacks on tourists in the late nineties). The police are still taking no chances. But, picture this: buses, cars, mini-buses all racing down a highway in the middle of the desert at breakneck speeds! Personally, I think the convoy makes us more of a target. The convoy from Aswan to Abu Simbel leaves at the same time, each and every day. We spent 2 hours at the site and then had to repeat the trip back. Easy to plan a ‘hit’, don’t you think? Strangely enough, despite the gorgeous scenery along the way, most of us spent the time sleeping! I did wake up in time to see a real ‘mirage’!
Built in the 13th Century BC, the temples at Abu Simbel remained totally hidden by sand until 1813. And 150 years later they were in danger of being submerged by the rising waters of Lake Nasser, a man-made lake formed after the Aswan High Dam was built. In fact, UNESCO dismantled the temples (and the cliffs out of which they were carved) and reassembled them on higher ground. This site is still considered UNESCO’s greatest achievement to date! What makes these temples so special is certainly the size of them, and the incredible carvings, but the entire site was cut up into over 2,000 huge blocks, weighing from 10-40 tons each, and then carefully put back together again, like a humongous puzzle over a 4-year period (at a total cost of over 40 million dollars in 1968 when it was opened to the public – a large sum at that time!). As I said, the site itself is quite amazing, but then you find yourself looking more closely to see where the blocks end and the next ones begin. The views over Lake Nasser are also incredible, along with the fact that over 20,000 crocodiles are reputed to live in its waters! No swimming for us, no matter how hot it gets (and I’m talking close to 50 degrees celsius)!
Over the next couple of days we cruised along the Nile, relaxing in the sunshine, drinking in the desert views, reading, sipping Mint Tea, Limoon Drinks, Kardcaday Tea (Hisbiscus Tea) and simply taking a vacation from our vacation. We weren’t entirely idle though. Each day required stops at some major temple sites such as Kom Ombo perched on a hillside overlooking the Nile (we arrived before any other boats and had the entire site to ourselves), and Edfu which is considered one of the best preserved temples in all of Egypt. Edfu is a magnificent temple dedicated to Horas, the falcon-headed God. The reason it is so well preserved is the fact that it was covered with desert sand which protected it from the elements. The reliefs carved into its temple walls and pillars are done on a grand scale indeed. It also has some secret passageways and hidden rooms which unfortunately were ‘off-limits’ to tourists – damn!
Football/Soccer is a favourite past-time here in Egypt as well. One evening in Edfu we tried to do some shopping, but most villagers were crowded around their TV’s which they had placed outside for all to view while continuing to ‘watch’ their shops. They had no time for us. It was a nice change from the usual ‘haggling’ we were getting used to.
Stay Tuned – Coming UP: LUXOR! (Valley of the Kings, Luxor Temple, Karnak)
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