Thursday, April 02, 2009

Aswan, Egypt

This morning started out a little rocky. I tried unsuccessfully for over an hour to get onto the Internet. I finally gave up and since I had promised Pat I would call I decided to use my calling card. I tried dialing from my room and this did not work either. I went down to the lobby and had to have the operator place the call for me and so not only did I have to use the minutes from my calling card but I had to pay a small amount for the toll-free number to Cairo. I did get in touch with him but made it a short call.

The rest of the morning and early afternoon were great. Aswan is Egypt's southernmost city. From Old Kingdom times, this strategically important garrison town guarded Egypt's southern frontier and was a base for military incursions into Nubia and Sudan. Located at the crossroads of ancient trade routes between Egypt, Africa and India, the town was also a prosperous marketplace, where exotic goods were traded. Aswan stands on the most enchanting part of the Nile, where the desert comes right down to the water's edge and the river is dotted with islands.

We boarded a motorboat and headed up the Nile to the Temple of Philae. As always, our guide gave us an excellent tour of this center of the cult of mythological Isis.

After our visit here we stopped at the High Dam. This immense structure in 2 miles long and 364 feet high. It was built in 1971 to control the flow of the Nile. We stopped at the visitor's center and at a large lotus shaped tower, built to commemorate the Soviet Union's support in building the dam. As a result of the construction of the dam Lake Nesser was formed. It is 310 miles long and has a depth of 600 feet. It was all pretty interesting.

We then boarded another motorboat to head for our lunch. We wound our way through tiny islands with very tall grasses and rock out croppings. We cruised past the Cataract Hotel where Agatha Christie spent a lot of time and where she wrote "Murder on the Nile". It was amazing to see the Sahara Desert as a backdrop to the lush vegetation of the Nile Valley. When our guide told us about the Saraha he said on the other side of that wall of sand, there is absolutely nothing until you come to the Atlantic Ocean.

We returned to our rooms after lunch for a rest because the sun in very hot and strong here.

We went to a perfume bottle glass blowing demonstration along with essence oils. Not very interesting because I do not wear fragrances. What was interesting was our trip to the spice market. Everyone had a good time as we walked the entire length being constantly approached by people peddling their goods. It was a very colorful place. Once again I have refrained from buying any needless trinkets.

We had dinner at an authentic Egyptian restaurant that was fair. One really has to like eggplant and okra to live here.