Thursday, January 22 - Aswan, A Land of Ancient Crossroads

Note: More pictures to come...

After spending the night docked in Aswan we awoke to another beautiful, crisp morning. Aswan is Egypt's southernmost town and is more like Africa than the rest of Egypt. The people are mostly Nubians, taller and darker than the Upper Egyptians. Aswan is renowned for its wonderful winter climate and beautiful setting. Some scholars identify the Arabic name Aswan with the Syene of Ezekiel 29:10 and 30:6. It may be identified with the Sinim of Isaiah 49:12. Aswan was located at the crossroads of ancient trade routes between Egypt, Africa, and India. After breakfast we loaded a bus and headed south. For all of those that are concerned about safety over here, I’ve been meaning to tell you that anytime we go out we have an armed guard with us, something they have been doing with tour groups since about 2000. I’ve become so accustom to it the guards seem to be just part of the group. We have a different one a least once a day. Oswan initially told us their name each day. Now he just calls them Michael because that was the first one’s name. So Michael 10 or 11 was with us today…I’ve lost track. We drove over the Old Dam, which was completed by the British in 1902 to help provide a controllable water source for controlling floods and irrigating lands around the Nile. However it was too small to control the floods, so a new dam, the High Dam (Sadd El-Ali ), was started in the 1960’s. It took 10 years to build. It is the largest (about 2.2 miles long) and highest (about 360 ft ) land-fill dam in the world and generates enough electricity to supply all of Egypt and a number of other countries. It created Lake Nasser and tamed the annual flooding of the Nile, however, the Nubians lost their land many of them who lived in this area had to be resettled by the Egyptian government. The building of the dam was disastrous for a number of ancient monuments which were destroyed by the lake, including the complex at Philae. Our bus drops us at a dock where we load a small motor boat for a short trip to the island of Agilkia where the complex of Philae was relocated. Our boat is always greeted at these tour stops by large numbers of street vendors. The vendors often want to know where you are from, as this is a very popular destination for European ”holiday”. They can usually spot the Americans, but what has been particularly interesting on this trip is that instead of saying “America?” we are often greeted with what has now become a somewhat expected greeting. They state as a question the word “Obama?” and then when we nod our heads yes, they smile and give us the thumbs up. It seems as though President Obama has become a uniting ideal in this part of the world.

Enrique, Noemie, and Michael kick back and take it easy on the Nile.

We took a short ride to the island, the location where the Greco-Roman temples of Philae were reconstructed stone by stone. these shrines were moved from Philae to Agilkia Island between 1972-1980 to protect them from the rising Nile caused by the Aswan Dam. You can still see pylons from the original site in the water nearby. The main temple at Philae was dedicated to Osiris's wife, Isis, who enjoyed unrivaled popularity in the Mediterranean world. At the entrance to the Temple of Isis is a long colonnade leading up to the pylon (entrance gate). The colonnade was never completed and we are able to see columns in various stages of completion. Also located in this complex is the Kiosk of Nectanebo (4th century BC), the Gate of Hadrian, The Temple of Hathor, and the Temple of Trajan. The Temple of Isis was built in the Ptolomaic and early Roman periods and contains both architectures. The Gate of Hadrian (394 AD) contains the last hieroglyphics produced in Egypt. The boat is waiting to take us back, so we reluctantly board.

The bus is waiting to take us to visit the southern end of Aswan, an area of ancient red granite quarries, where stone for the building of many of Egypt's monuments was obtained. We are here to see The Unfinished Obelisk. This gigantic single piece of carved granite was intended to be an obelisk and still remains attached to the rock on one side. It sits amidst an enormous hillside of solid granite where many other graphite cuttings can be seen. It is generally thought to have been commissioned by Queen Hatshepsut, because it is very similar to her obelisk in Karnak Temple in Luxor. In ancient times, obelisks and other large stone objects were usually blocked out roughly before they left the quarry. You can see evidence here of a technique thought to be used for splitting the hard stone away from its surrounding rock. Groves or divots were cut along the line where the stone was to be detached. Wooden wedges were driven in and then soaked with water. The force of the swelling wood would act to split the granite. The stone, which measures 42m in length and would have weighed about 1216 tons, developed a flaw during quarrying and was never completed. It was left to lie still attached to the living rock for the next 3000 years. What an incredible marvel of early technology. After lunch, we boarded a smaller motor boat for our next adventure down the Nile. I just can’t describe how beautiful our weather has been. The mornings are crisp, but by midday, the temperature is perfect and there is almost no humidity, especially in this area, where it almost never rains. Oswan jokes about the locals calling it heavy rains when it sprinkles. Next we continued further south (to what is called Upper Egypt because the Nile flows from south to north) to what is called the First Cataract. Before there were dams on the Nile, the rocky region created waterfalls. This rocky region is known as a cataract.

We cruise at a gentle pace along the river banks, watching life along the Nile and soaking up sites along banks. We pass the Tombs of the Nobles, tombs from the Old and Middle Kingdom which are carved out of the rock hillside. In contrast to the sandy, rocky hills sides, we soon pass a lush, botanical garden on Kitchener’s Island. The island was presented to British General Kitchener in the 1890’s as a reward for leading the Egyptian army’s successful campaigns in Sudan. Kitchener made it his home, importing tropical plants from around the world. Perched on a barren desert hillside high above the Nile, sits the villa and Mausoleum of Aga Khan, the 48th Imam (leader) of the Ismaili sect of Shiite Muslims. He lived in the villa and after his death, his wife had the Mausoleum built in his honor. On the east bank of the river we soon pass the Sofitel Cataract Hotel, the location where Agatha Christie penned “Death on the Nile”. All along the way we see a large number of birds and much to our surprise out of nowhere 2 young boys in tiny wooden boats appear at the side of our boat. They cling to the boat and serenade us. We are told can sing in a number of languages…English doesn’t seem to be one of them. They are precious and we tip them “one dolla” as is customary. The next island we pass is Elephantine Island. The island is the oldest inhabited area in Aswan. Located on the southern end of the island is the Temple of Khnum, The famous Elephantine Papyri of the fourth and fifth century B.C. were found here. A nileometer, a device used to measure the height of the river, is located on the island, but somehow, I missed it. Nileometers were used to determine the amount of tax paid each year. If the Nile was high, it was a good productive year, and taxes would be high. I guess governments have always taken their “fair” share. We round a bend in the river to find a caravan of camels. A number of the group journey the remaining way to a Nubian village the old fashioned way. It was an incredible experience (except maybe getting on the camel) I will never forget. With the warm sun on our face, the camels transport us just along the edge of the desert. The Nile on our left and the desert sands on our right. We tried to take pictures, but the camels needed shock absorbers! The pictures are a little crooked and blurred, but a great time was had by all. They dropped us off at a small Nubian village, where we sampled refreshments, played with the baby crocodiles, (I think someone has a picture of me holding one!) and shopped for spices and trinkets. Again, we reluctantly boarded the small boat and headed off for a sunset cruise back to our cruise boat. Felucca (sail boats) dot the river, unfurling their sails and providing beautiful silhouettes for pictures of the setting sun.

Alyssa, Mike, Boyd, and Buddy get the ride of a lifetime on a camel.

It has been an unforgettable day as we return to the boat for dinner and a little time at the internet café. The café is housed in a row of shops that have red granite walls, floors, columns - you name it, it is granite. It is one of the cheapest building materials in the area. Ferrell Jr. thinks it would make great countertops in his house. I wonder if they have FedEx…