After a few days in Cairo, Linda and friends traveled south to Aswan, Abu Simbel, Luxor and the Valley of the Kings. As is typical of such a journey, the group proceeded from Aswan to Luxor on a Nile Cruise ship.
The trip south from Cairo to Aswan began in the early hours of the morning with a 4:30 departure to the airport from the ladies' hotel in the shadow of the Giza Pyramids, for a 6:45 flight to Aswan, some 500 miles south.
Baggage check-in at the domestic terminal at Cairo International. The ladies hoped for warmer desert temps along the Nile near the southern border of Egypt.
Nile Air is one of several domestic airlines offering transportation to the south. These airlines offer competitive rates to the overnight train or bus transportation that once was the traditional mode of travel. For travelers with the time and inclination, smaller river boats still offer an "Agatha Christie" experience in the wind-powered Dahabiya - the Thomas Cook steamers having long disappeared.
Here's a map from our trip south last year showing the geography of the area.
Arriving in Aswan in early morning presents the problem of what to do until check-in time on the Nile cruise ship. This problem is usually solved with an expedition out to the Aswan High Dam, source of much of the electricity in Egypt and the stabilizer of water flow that has eliminated the annual flooding of the countryside downstream. This view is on the downstream side of the dam with Aswan in the background.
Another picture gives an overview of the area near the dam.
The 250 foot high monument from 1967 commemorating the friendship of the people of the Soviet Union and Egypt is one of the few reminders of the Soviet Union's presence in Egypt. Travelers of a certain age may conjure up memories of the Cold War, Sputnik and other 1950s-60s events as they walk through the lotus-flower inspired monument.
On the way back into town, the group stopped to visit the Philae Temple of Isis, located on an island just below the Aswan High Dam. This temple is a highlight of any visit to Aswan. Dating from the Ptolemaic era of Greek and Roman world power, this temple is one of the monuments that was relocated to protect it from the rising waters of the Nile as the new "High Dam" was built. The temple's pillars are spectacular. Access is via a fifteen minute ride on small ferry boats in the nearby harbor, a fun adventure itself.
After checking in at the Nile Cruise boat/floating hotel, visitors usually tour the city of Aswan (population almost 400,000) offering some insight into the Nubian population of southern Egypt and a variety of sights on Elephantine Island. (Tom highly recommends spending time at the Aswan Museum and its surrounding archeological highlights discovered by Egyptian archeologist Labib Habachi).
When Linda first visited Egypt in 1977, to put her Arabic language study to a practical test, Aswan was a sleepy town of perhaps 50,000. As the tourism business has grown to be a major pillar of the Egyptian economy, Aswan has boomed. The usual tourist shops selling spices, cotton, tee-shirts and tiny pyramids are doing well. A visit to both the bazaar and Nubian marketplace are worthwhile if only for lively banter with the merchants.
We stopped in this lovely location for a relaxing cup of tea,
Additional photos for this post (and the next post from Abu Simbel) can be found on this Flickr Album.
Other posts on this blog pertaining to a particular topic can be found by entering the topic (such as Aswan) in the search bar at the top of this post and clicking the little magnifying glass nearby.
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