During our arrival in Aswan the day
before last, our local tour director had asked us if we had interest in
touring a Nubian village. He explained that we would have some time on
this day, Monday morning, before we joined the cruise portion of our
tour. He explained a little about how Nubia is the land basically
stretching from Aswan (and the traditionally border of ancient Egypt) to
Khartoum, in Sudan to the south. A majority of Nubia ended up under
water when both of the Aswan dams were built, and most people were
resettled. He offered us a tour to visit one such resettlement area,
and to see "the locals," who have their own language and culture, and
who are ethnically black. We asked Anna, and she said "yes, we should.
When else will be have the chance?" Deciding her decisiveness was
correct, we elected to add on this optional tour. It did mean we
wouldn't be able to sleep in, as originally hoped, but we had plenty of
time to pack and eat breakfast before meeting our same guide from the
day before, in our hotel lobby around 8:30am. We left our bags at the
hotel and boarded a smallish boat at the dock, which then took us on a
slow cruise against the current, upstream, through some very interesting
nature areas. I never did get the name of the actual village we
visited. Our guide, Doaa, said it several times, but it was in Nubian
(duh!), and impossible for me to decipher, despite hearing it several
times. We docked at the base of a long set of huge steps, leading up to
essentially one main, one-lane dirt road, that served as the spine of
the small village. It was lined by shops selling unique souvenirs, but
most stalls were set up selling spices and powders (such as cobalt) used
for dying clothing. The smells and sights were genuinely unique. We
ended up at a "Nubian hospitality house," which was really just a house,
painted up for tourists, but which we had to ourselves. The Nubians
have a history of working with the crocodiles which used to teem in the
Nile, but which now only live in the wild in Lake Nasser, above the two
dams. Still, the Nubian house had to crocodiles in cages, for us to
ogle. Many of the shops, too, carried items made with crocodile
leather, which I'm sure we wouldn't be able to bring home, even if we
had been inclined. We had the obligatory tea and soft drinks, and a
freshly made form of sweet bread with a cinnamon dip was brought out.
It was very tasty, but we'd only finished breakfast a short while
earlier, so I ate some out of courtesy, but everyone else nibbled.
While we did this, the girls had another opportunity for henna tattoos,
and had their other hands done. As had been predicted by Josef, this
artist was far better, and quality of her ink was superior.
 |
| Views from the River |
 |
| Plying the Nile on the Way to the Nubian Village |
 |
| Lone Street in the Nubian Village |
 |
| Nubian "Hospitality House" |
 |
| Yes, a Crocodile |
 |
| Our Guide, Doaa |
We
were offered the chance to visit a Nubian school. I tried to say "no,"
as it was noticeably hotter than the previous day, but before I could
protest, we had already arrived. The "teacher" was waiting for us, and
we were brought back to an operating classroom. We were told to sit,
and then we got an impromptu lesson in Nubian and Arabic. We were
taught to count to 10 in both languages, and then were taught several
words and phrases. Our guide also wrote each word as we spoke it. I
was surprised at how different Nubian looked and sounded from Arabic. I
guess it is good that they are keeping the culture and language alive,
even though so relatively few people use the language any longer.
 |
| Anna and Charlotte in Nubian School |
 |
| Our "Teacher" |
Once
back on the boat, the heat had really picked up, so the breeze as we
floated with the current felt really good. Doaa called ahead to the
tour director, and advised that we had to be on our ship -- the
Steinberger Minerva -- by 11:30am, which meant that we were going to
stop briefly at Elephantine Island, pick up our bags, and then take the
small tour boat directly to our ship, which was conveniently docked
directly across from our hotel. Our visit to the school had delayed us a
little, so Doaa was rushed to get the bags. On our way to the cruise
ship, there was a small boy who was on a surfboard. He had been holding
on to one of the regular launch boats, and when he saw us, he let go
and paddled his way over to our boat and hung on. He proceeded to start
singing, obviously in hopes of a tip. The boat driver started to yell
at him, but then the motor died. Turns out he had run out of gas. He
was too busy refilling the tank with a gas can he, luckily, had stashed
below deck, to keep shooing the boy away. The boy went from an Arabic
song, to one in English, and finally to Alouette, Gentille Alouette. We
gave him a few pounds, if only to get him to stop singing. Meanwhile,
we had drifted directly alongside our cruise ship by the time the engine
started again. The only place for the launch to dock was already
chock-full of other boats, and was wedged between six cruise ships,
which were berthed side-by-side, three-by-three. Through sheer brute
force, our driver forced his boat in between two others, and alongside
another. We had to scramble out and through the neighboring boat, and
then up onto an uneven platform of steps. I kept looking over my
shoulder to see if our bags were following, and sure enough several men
had come down from our cruise ship and had formed a human chain to get
our bags off of the launch and up to dry land. It was a little chaotic,
as we were blindly following Doaa. We crossed a gang plank into one
ship, and then proceeded to walk through that ship, directly into the
lobby of a second; then through that ship, and onto our ship, which was
berthed as the third ship -- with each ship docked side-by-side. It was
rather surreal to pass from lobby to lobby.
 |
| On Our Way to the Cruise Ship |
The
air conditioning of the ship felt wonderful, and it felt great to
settle into one of the large sofas and recollect ourselves from the
relative chaos of the transport. Ship's staff quickly brought over
chilled towels for us, as well as cold water. Doaa had been speaking
to another man, who ended up being our MemphisTour guide for the next
few days, while on the ship. His name was Ahmed, but he explained that
his last name means "Friday" in Arabic. Given that Ahmed is the name
given to about 30 percent of all Egyptians, he asked that we simply call
him "Friday." He generously welcomed us and explained what would be
happening for the remainder of the day. Our rooms were ready -- we had
three rooms; one double for Barbara and Charlotte, one for K and I, and
one for Anna. Charlotte and Anna quickly decided that they wanted to
share a room, so Barbara ended up on her own, which I don't think she
minded. We were all surprised, I might add, at how nice the ship was.
Far nicer than I had expected, and our rooms were huge, especially
compared to ocean cruise ships.
 |
| Our Cabin |
Our
boat was owned and run by the German hotel chain Steinberger, and it
was filled with about four different tour companies. Two groups were
from Germany, one from Canada, and then ours, with MemphisTours. Friday
was to be our on-board escort and guide for the next three days, and
our group totaled 14 -- the five of us; a sole British expatriate named
Oliver, who was currently teaching on Abu Dhabi; an American doctor in
his 30's from Boston, traveling with his father; a French family of
three, the father of which worked for Dannon and which had been living
all over the world, to include Tahiti and currently in Kinshasa, Congo
(they were weird); and a young Spanish couple and the mother-in-law of
his brother (also weird). The Spanish threesome, as we called them,
were unique, in that the young couple were dating and traveling
together, but his brother's mother-in-law works for a Canadian company
in Cairo, and had offered to travel with them and show them around.
Everyone was nice and we got along well. Memphis caters to each
individual booker, so while we would all be together until we reached
Luxor, from there, each group had a slightly different itinerary.
Oliver ended up being with us all the way back to Cairo, and he was a
hoot.
After lunch -- and the food throughout the cruise was
surprisingly excellent -- we all met up and left the ship for a land
tour. We started with a city tour and a visit to the "unfinished
obelisk of Aswan." This is the largest known obelisk ever found, but it
is still located within a quarry, located not far from the center of
modern-day Aswan. During the process of carving out of a single rock, a
flaw was discovered, which meant it couldn't be used. Seeing it still
attached in rock on one side was interesting, as we could begin to
fathom what was required to carve and then move these immense
structures. I have to say, too, that the heat wave had started. Egypt
had entered a period of much higher-than-normal temperatures, and by the
time we reached the quarry, it was over 100 degrees. Yes, it was a dry
heat, but with the sun heating up the ground, it felt as though we were
walking in an oven at times.
 |
| On Our Tour Bus |
 |
| Unfinished Obelisk |
From
here we headed to the famous High Dam, controversially built by
President Nasser in the 1960's, with help from the Soviet Union. The
original dam built by the British had already been raised two times, but
rather than raise it again, they elected to build an entirely new
complex, which came to be known as the High Dam. As previewed in Abu
Simbel, and as we'd see later this day, many architectural sites had to
be moved lest they end up under water. Aside from a very quirky and
gaudy monument to Egyptian-Soviet solidarity, there isn't much to see.
The Soviet monument, ironically, required a separate ticket and was
completely deserted. I can't imagine anyone paying to visit.
Originally, tourists were allowed to disembark and take pictures above
the huge spill gates, where the power generators are located, but for
security purposes, that was changed, and the new picture outlook is
utterly dull and hardly worth the visit. The story of how the dam was
built was far more interesting than the actual sight. We learned that
whereas the dam had originally provided electricity to the entire
country, it now accounts for only 20 percent, the rest of which comes
from new gas-powered electrical plants. We also learned how the dam has
messed with the ecology of the Nile valley and delta. While it does
control the flooding and saves lives and ensures crops, it has prevented
any of the nutrient-rich silt washed downstream from the Blue and White
Nile rivers, which has forced farmers to resort to chemical
fertilizers, which in turn has poisoned huge areas of the delta. In
addition, decades worth of silt has now built up behind the High Dam,
threatening it's integrity. Suffice it to say, that if the dam were to
ever fail, the results would be nothing short of catastrophic.
From
here we traveled down to a boat launch area, where we boarded launches
to take us to the Temple of Philae, which is dedicated to the goddesses
Isis and Hathor. These two temples had been partially submerged when
the first Aswan dam was built, and the visitor center had interesting
pictures of people visiting in the 1950's, which involved sailing in
between the half-submerged pillars in small boats. When the High Dam
was constructed, these temples too had to be moved, and UNESCO stepped
in to raise money and successfully move them to a new island location.
The ride over and visit itself was beautiful, and the temples are in
excellent shape, despite all that has befallen them in the last century
or so.
 |
| Leaving the Dock for Temple of Philae |
 |
| Approaching Temple of Philae on the Water |
The
sun was lowering in the sky as we took the boat back, which actually
made for a nice temperature. On the way back we stopped at a "perfume
factory," where they discussed how they extract various extracts and
make medicinal and aromatic scents and perfumes. Aside from the free
massages that were offered -- during which they applied some of the
therapeutic oils -- it was lost on me, but all of the ladies made
purchases.
 |
| Returning from Philae |
 |
| Vendors on the Dock as we Returned |
Back
on the boat, we had pre-dinner cocktails, and then a leisurely meal.
We met with our group and guide later in the evening, just to go over
plans for the coming days, and then had nightcaps before bed.
We
were offered the chance to visit a Nubian school. I tried to say "no,"
as it was noticeably hotter than the previous day, but before I could
protest, we had already arrived. The "teacher" was waiting for us, and
we were brought back to an operating classroom. We were told to sit,
and then we got an impromptu lesson in Nubian and Arabic. We were
taught to count to 10 in both languages, and then were taught several
words and phrases. Our guide also wrote each word as we spoke it. I
was surprised at how different Nubian looked and sounded from Arabic. I
guess it is good that they are keeping the culture and language alive,
even though so relatively few people use the language any longer.
Once
back on the boat, the heat had really picked up, so the breeze as we
floated with the current felt really good. Doaa called ahead to the
tour director, and advised that we had to be on our ship -- the
Steinberger Minerva -- by 11:30am, which meant that we were going to
stop briefly at Elephantine Island, pick up our bags, and then take the
small tour boat directly to our ship, which was conveniently docked
directly across from our hotel. Our visit to the school had delayed us a
little, so Doaa was rushed to get the bags. On our way to the cruise
ship, there was a small boy who was on a surfboard. He had been holding
on to one of the regular launch boats, and when he saw us, he let go
and paddled his way over to our boat and hung on. He proceeded to start
singing, obviously in hopes of a tip. The boat driver started to yell
at him, but then the motor died. Turns out he had run out of gas. He
was too busy refilling the tank with a gas can he, luckily, had stashed
below deck, to keep shooing the boy away. The boy went from an Arabic
song, to one in English, and finally to Alouette, Gentille Alouette. We
gave him a few pounds, if only to get him to stop singing. Meanwhile,
we had drifted directly alongside our cruise ship by the time the engine
started again. The only place for the launch to dock was already
chock-full of other boats, and was wedged between six cruise ships,
which were berthed side-by-side, three-by-three. Through sheer brute
force, our driver forced his boat in between two others, and alongside
another. We had to scramble out and through the neighboring boat, and
then up onto an uneven platform of steps. I kept looking over my
shoulder to see if our bags were following, and sure enough several men
had come down from our cruise ship and had formed a human chain to get
our bags off of the launch and up to dry land. It was a little chaotic,
as we were blindly following Doaa. We crossed a gang plank into one
ship, and then proceeded to walk through that ship, directly into the
lobby of a second; then through that ship, and onto our ship, which was
berthed as the third ship -- with each ship docked side-by-side. It was
rather surreal to pass from lobby to lobby.
Our
boat was owned and run by the German hotel chain Steinberger, and it
was filled with about four different tour companies. Two groups were
from Germany, one from Canada, and then ours, with MemphisTours. Friday
was to be our on-board escort and guide for the next three days, and
our group totaled 14 -- the five of us; a sole British expatriate named
Oliver, who was currently teaching on Abu Dhabi; an American doctor in
his 30's from Boston, traveling with his father; a French family of
three, the father of which worked for Dannon and which had been living
all over the world, to include Tahiti and currently in Kinshasa, Congo
(they were weird); and a young Spanish couple and the mother-in-law of
his brother (also weird). The Spanish threesome, as we called them,
were unique, in that the young couple were dating and traveling
together, but his brother's mother-in-law works for a Canadian company
in Cairo, and had offered to travel with them and show them around.
Everyone was nice and we got along well. Memphis caters to each
individual booker, so while we would all be together until we reached
Luxor, from there, each group had a slightly different itinerary.
Oliver ended up being with us all the way back to Cairo, and he was a
hoot.
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