organize your trip and can give
you suggestions on how to get
from place to place. Again,
watch out for well-humored
taxi drivers who take a side-trip
as a favor to a friend – it’s a
tourist trap for you.
The train ride was more than
four hours late, so our daily
activities were cut short in
Aswan. Still, we had a nice
boat or “Faluka” ride along the
Nile, stopping at some ancient
temples and a botanical garden.
The temples had unfortunately
closed, but you will enjoy the
company of the Nubian sailors
who sail the falukas all over
the river. The Nubian people are
ethnically African, and many
were relocated after part of the
Nile river was dammed and a
lake built. They had lived along
the banks of the southern river.
Also in Aswan is a museum and
village devoted to the lives of
these people. This was the only
part of the trip I regretted not
being able to see. More time in
Aswan would have been nice,
and it’s well worth the excursion
south if you have a few days for
more than just the pyramids and
Valley of the Kings.
While in Aswan, the hotel also
arranged a visit to the AbuSimbel monument. You have to
see this in the morning as the
shadow caused by the sun in
the afternoon makes for poor
pictures. We got up at dark to
take a three-hour bus ride there,
arriving a little after 7 a.m.
Abu-Simbel was in danger of
being drowned when the dam
and reservoir was built. An
incredible effort moved these
12
PauzaVol5.2.indd 12
temples to
higher ground.
They were
dissected piece
by piece and
reassembled
on the banks of
the lake. You’d
never know
this wasn’t
the original
place of these
temples,
built into the
rock face and
with a great
view of the
lake beyond.
One of the
four statues
of Ramses II
was damaged
during an
earthquake
shortly after the temple had been
reassembled. The plan was
flawless and well worth getting
up to see.
On the way back, we stopped
at Philae temple, bargaining
the boat ride to the island on
the lake, and then the last stop
was the dam itself. This temple
was also relocated to higher
ground. Once back in Aswan,
we enjoyed the local cuisine.
The food can be very cheap and
usually is well-prepared. Just be
Spring 2007
6/29/07 12:31:10 PM