MONDAY MARCH 5th
Yet another early morning up at 5am! We were to catch a train at 7am bound for Aswan and say goodbye not only to Luxor (just for 6 days) but also to Wael who dropped us at the platform with hugs and handshakes all round. Our group had split, some going home and some going onto the cruise ship Doma. We were 8 people on the platform hoping to meet our train as arranged which carried on board 12 other travellers newly arrived in Cairo 24 hours previously and our Week 2 tour leader called Taso. The train was late! We waited until 9.30am and watched various trains coming and going. Nothing like the British system of flags, whistles and announcements, this was a casual arrival with tea served on the platform and trains leaving just as casually with passengers jogging to jump aboard at the last minute.
I was suffering from 'Gyppy tummy' and not very relaxed! My fears were doubled after finally boarding our train when I discovered the most filthy, disgusting loo on the train itself. Enough said, it was truly foul.
Taso came to say hello once the train has got moving again. We had 3 hours to Aswan so it was snoozing or reading or watching the scenery. The Train follows the Nile and offered fascinating views of mud villages, river bank and small towns along the route. It became drier to the East and continued to be mountainous. Apart from the loo episode, the journey passed swiftly and on arrival at Aswan we lugged our bags down and up stairs to the street outside. Taxis took our bags and we walked to our hotel 'Cleopatra'. It felt a little wierd to be in a group wth strangers and a new tour leader after building such a strong bond in week one. Our hotel was near to the main Souk street, with a pleasant lobby. The rooms were disappointing though, and for the first time I shared a twin. the rooftop pool was also of a poor standard but in the heat it was a pleasant way to cool down. I skipped lunch and had apple juice to settle my stomach before joining the optional trip to the Aswam Dam and Philae Temple.
12 people squashed into 2 taxis which sped us along fast roads out of Aswan's dusty donkey streets towards the Dam. We first passed over the original dam built by the British and spotted Philae Temple in the distance. We carried on without stopping the newer High Dam. Built by President Nasser to protect the Nile valley from the annual river floods, it has created a massive lake named after him. The Dam enables Egypt to generate electricity which it also exports abroad.
The view of the lake gave you an inckling of it's overall size - some 500m long. The photo shows the NILE flowing north from the wall of the Dam.
PHILAE TEMPLE
The creation of the Lake threatened to submerge some of the ancient Egyptian temples. Philae Temple is very well preserved and dates from 300BC built during the Greco/Roman period and dedicated to ISIS with a shrine to Hathor. It was flooded for some time in its original location and later moved in the 1970's as part of a UNESCO project stone by stone to higher ground on an island nearby.
The approach is via motorboats and felt to me a bit like being in the Mediterranean. The Temple is strking and in the setting sun the shadows on the stone carvings and hieroglyphs was wonderful. A roman gateway up from the lake built by Hadrian made me realise just how OLD these Egyptian temples are. In Britain we tend to measure everything by our roman heritage and yet this is 'modern' in Egyptian terms.
Cleopatras Needle in London originated here and was donated to Great Britain by Egypt in recognition of help from the Royal Navy in recovering stones from the water. By sunset we were heading back in the boats to our taxis and back to the hotel. Again I skipped supper and stayed in the hotel. I was glad to take an early night as we had aanother early start for ABU SIMBEL.
TUESDAY MARCH 6th
ABU SIMBEL
Alarm at 3.30am to catch our bus at 4.30am and join the tourist convoy to Abu Simbel, some 300 miles further south near the Sudan border in the region known as Nubia. The hotel provided breakfast boxes - same ingredients as in Luxor and I took one despite wanting to stay off food. On the bus I tried to sleep a little but by 6am I was awake and groggy surrounded by people eating from their boxes. I couldn't face it, so wathed the scenery instead. Sunrise was casting blue light on the desert on both sides, no more mountains or greenery to look at. As we got closer to Sudan, the road blocks increased and convoys of trucks were waiting roadside for permission to continue across the border.
At 7am we arrived in the small town of Abu Simbel. Lake Nasser nearby is the only feature of the desert but the town hs a modern hospital and otherwise looked charming.
The buses park in one large carpark and the hundreds of tourists swarm into the temple visitor centre past a dozen shops trading in souvenirs, cola, fanta, sprite, crisps & icecreams. Abu Simbel was also moved to higher ground to avoid the lake water and a small exhibition tries to convey the enormity of this project. The approach to the temple is via the back of a large dome of gravel which was built from nothing as a new backdrop to the temples. The path rounds to the front with Lake Nasser stretching before you into the distance.
The first view of the enormous statues of Rameses II is breathtaking. Our guide (who was bonkers and believed in the Alien theory) shared some tales of Rameses II and showed us what to look for inside the temple which is dedictaed to his war triumphs against the Hyksos in the Battle of Qadesh and his growing egotism which led to him declaring himself a god. The second temple is dedicated to Rameses II's favourite wife Nefertari. However, he had to include statues of himself here too - such was the size of his ego!
At the foot of the main temple you are dwarfed by the statues and early graffiti from the explorers is cleary visible from a time when the sand covered the temple making it possible to carve into the stone some 15m above the present entrance.
Inside the statues continue and the walls are just awe inspring in their detail and scale. Deep inside the temple is a shrine to the sun god Ra - amazingly the sunrise strikes the exact spot twice a year in spring and autumn.
The temple of Nefertari is similar but on a smaller scale with impressive carvings and murals.
No photos are allowed inside, but I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
An amazing morning and well worth the long trip. We arrived back in Aswan early afternoon and I rested for the remainder of the day. With my 'Aswan Diet' going well and my clothes loosening I opted again for a 'no food' day to avoid any further gyppy tummy.
THE UNFINISHED OBELISK
I opted out of the Nubian Village visit and along with Jan and Tim went in search of the Unfinished Obelisk which lies in a granite quarry in Aswan. Tim had a map and we walked confidently for 3 miles and still couldn't find it.
When we asked directions and eventually arrived we were 4 minutes late! Disheartened we walked back to the hotel via some very dodgy backstreets! After a refreshing drink on the riverbank we then braved the souk together and I bought hibiscus tea and a galabaya in white cotton.
Starting to feel hungry again, around 6pm I ate in the hotel with a few others and managed an omelette.
Another early night to pack my bags ready for the sailing expedition the following day.
WEDNESDAY MARCH 7th
Feeling rough again - not sure the omelette was a good idea - I skipped breakfast and the optional camel trek to a local monastery. Several others had also not gone so after dropping our bags at the Feluccas we had a free morning.
It as agreed that we couldn't let the Obelisk beat us so hailed a taxi to take us there at 8.30am.
This time it was open and packed with tourists!
The quarry was used by the Ancient Egyptians to build their granite temples and statues, floating the blocks down the Nile.
the unfinished obelisk remains here as it developed a crack in the stone making it useless. It would have been the largest obelisk in Egypt but instead lies here unfinished as a clue to the methods used by the ancients.
We had a triumphant photo taken before leaving to join the others at our Feluccas.
MONDAY MARCH 5th
Yet another early morning up at 5am! We were to catch a train at 7am bound for Aswan and say goodbye not only to Luxor (just for 6 days) but also to Wael who dropped us at the platform with hugs and handshakes all round. Our group had split, some going home and some going onto the cruise ship Doma. We were 8 people on the platform hoping to meet our train as arranged which carried on board 12 other travellers newly arrived in Cairo 24 hours previously and our Week 2 tour leader called Taso. The train was late! We waited until 9.30am and watched various trains coming and going. Nothing like the British system of flags, whistles and announcements, this was a casual arrival with tea served on the platform and trains leaving just as casually with passengers jogging to jump aboard at the last minute.
I was suffering from 'Gyppy tummy' and not very relaxed! My fears were doubled after finally boarding our train when I discovered the most filthy, disgusting loo on the train itself. Enough said, it was truly foul.
Taso came to say hello once the train has got moving again. We had 3 hours to Aswan so it was snoozing or reading or watching the scenery. The Train follows the Nile and offered fascinating views of mud villages, river bank and small towns along the route. It became drier to the East and continued to be mountainous. Apart from the loo episode, the journey passed swiftly and on arrival at Aswan we lugged our bags down and up stairs to the street outside. Taxis took our bags and we walked to our hotel 'Cleopatra'. It felt a little wierd to be in a group wth strangers and a new tour leader after building such a strong bond in week one. Our hotel was near to the main Souk street, with a pleasant lobby. The rooms were disappointing though, and for the first time I shared a twin. the rooftop pool was also of a poor standard but in the heat it was a pleasant way to cool down. I skipped lunch and had apple juice to settle my stomach before joining the optional trip to the Aswam Dam and Philae Temple.
12 people squashed into 2 taxis which sped us along fast roads out of Aswan's dusty donkey streets towards the Dam. We first passed over the original dam built by the British and spotted Philae Temple in the distance. We carried on without stopping the newer High Dam. Built by President Nasser to protect the Nile valley from the annual river floods, it has created a massive lake named after him. The Dam enables Egypt to generate electricity which it also exports abroad.
The view of the lake gave you an inckling of it's overall size - some 500m long. The photo shows the NILE flowing north from the wall of the Dam.
PHILAE TEMPLE
The creation of the Lake threatened to submerge some of the ancient Egyptian temples. Philae Temple is very well preserved and dates from 300BC built during the Greco/Roman period and dedicated to ISIS with a shrine to Hathor. It was flooded for some time in its original location and later moved in the 1970's as part of a UNESCO project stone by stone to higher ground on an island nearby.
The approach is via motorboats and felt to me a bit like being in the Mediterranean. The Temple is strking and in the setting sun the shadows on the stone carvings and hieroglyphs was wonderful. A roman gateway up from the lake built by Hadrian made me realise just how OLD these Egyptian temples are. In Britain we tend to measure everything by our roman heritage and yet this is 'modern' in Egyptian terms.
Cleopatras Needle in London originated here and was donated to Great Britain by Egypt in recognition of help from the Royal Navy in recovering stones from the water. By sunset we were heading back in the boats to our taxis and back to the hotel. Again I skipped supper and stayed in the hotel. I was glad to take an early night as we had aanother early start for ABU SIMBEL.
TUESDAY MARCH 6th
ABU SIMBEL
Alarm at 3.30am to catch our bus at 4.30am and join the tourist convoy to Abu Simbel, some 300 miles further south near the Sudan border in the region known as Nubia. The hotel provided breakfast boxes - same ingredients as in Luxor and I took one despite wanting to stay off food. On the bus I tried to sleep a little but by 6am I was awake and groggy surrounded by people eating from their boxes. I couldn't face it, so wathed the scenery instead. Sunrise was casting blue light on the desert on both sides, no more mountains or greenery to look at. As we got closer to Sudan, the road blocks increased and convoys of trucks were waiting roadside for permission to continue across the border.
At 7am we arrived in the small town of Abu Simbel. Lake Nasser nearby is the only feature of the desert but the town hs a modern hospital and otherwise looked charming.
The buses park in one large carpark and the hundreds of tourists swarm into the temple visitor centre past a dozen shops trading in souvenirs, cola, fanta, sprite, crisps & icecreams. Abu Simbel was also moved to higher ground to avoid the lake water and a small exhibition tries to convey the enormity of this project. The approach to the temple is via the back of a large dome of gravel which was built from nothing as a new backdrop to the temples. The path rounds to the front with Lake Nasser stretching before you into the distance.
The first view of the enormous statues of Rameses II is breathtaking. Our guide (who was bonkers and believed in the Alien theory) shared some tales of Rameses II and showed us what to look for inside the temple which is dedictaed to his war triumphs against the Hyksos in the Battle of Qadesh and his growing egotism which led to him declaring himself a god. The second temple is dedicated to Rameses II's favourite wife Nefertari. However, he had to include statues of himself here too - such was the size of his ego!
At the foot of the main temple you are dwarfed by the statues and early graffiti from the explorers is cleary visible from a time when the sand covered the temple making it possible to carve into the stone some 15m above the present entrance.
Inside the statues continue and the walls are just awe inspring in their detail and scale. Deep inside the temple is a shrine to the sun god Ra - amazingly the sunrise strikes the exact spot twice a year in spring and autumn.
The temple of Nefertari is similar but on a smaller scale with impressive carvings and murals.
No photos are allowed inside, but I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
An amazing morning and well worth the long trip. We arrived back in Aswan early afternoon and I rested for the remainder of the day. With my 'Aswan Diet' going well and my clothes loosening I opted again for a 'no food' day to avoid any further gyppy tummy.
THE UNFINISHED OBELISK
I opted out of the Nubian Village visit and along with Jan and Tim went in search of the Unfinished Obelisk which lies in a granite quarry in Aswan. Tim had a map and we walked confidently for 3 miles and still couldn't find it.
When we asked directions and eventually arrived we were 4 minutes late! Disheartened we walked back to the hotel via some very dodgy backstreets! After a refreshing drink on the riverbank we then braved the souk together and I bought hibiscus tea and a galabaya in white cotton.
Starting to feel hungry again, around 6pm I ate in the hotel with a few others and managed an omelette.
Another early night to pack my bags ready for the sailing expedition the following day.
WEDNESDAY MARCH 7th
Feeling rough again - not sure the omelette was a good idea - I skipped breakfast and the optional camel trek to a local monastery. Several others had also not gone so after dropping our bags at the Feluccas we had a free morning.
It as agreed that we couldn't let the Obelisk beat us so hailed a taxi to take us there at 8.30am.
This time it was open and packed with tourists!
The quarry was used by the Ancient Egyptians to build their granite temples and statues, floating the blocks down the Nile.
the unfinished obelisk remains here as it developed a crack in the stone making it useless. It would have been the largest obelisk in Egypt but instead lies here unfinished as a clue to the methods used by the ancients.
We had a triumphant photo taken before leaving to join the others at our Feluccas.
