Aswan, Egypt Yesterday was spent getting packed and leaving the ship as we reached the northern-most point of Lake Nasser, at the dam. Finally, a real city, with internet and everything.
Silly us, we thought there would be a line of taxis waiting to take us into town. Instead, three porters and a boss man escorted us to a vast and empty parking lot, which serves the ships and the train which stops here. Other than that, nothing for miles.
Uber gave up on us after three tries. A guy pulled up and seemed to know how to call a taxi, and ultimately a small car apeared on the horizon to ferry us into town. Tips all around and off we went. This ride took us through the most desolate parts of Aswan we have seen yet, and we were still miles away from the center.
Fortunately, our young driver had some English, and was very expert at navigating the ruts and the bumps of a terrible road, so we agreed to engage him to get us to the Aswan airport tomorrow. Fingers crossed.
Our hotel is very modern and looks classy. It just has lousy and sporadic internet, which is very unfortunate, as I tried to finish my blog backlog.
This morning we went to visit Elephantine Island, nearby in the middle of the Nile. It is the oldest inhabited part of Aswan. We got there by ferry, which has very religious ideas about where we were to sit. It took us and a bunch of segregated locals (men on one side of the ship, women on the other. Men get off first) to what passes for a museum of artifacts uncovered by ongoing excavations, as well as a Roman well.
Next to it is an ancient temple complex which Don studiously toured, while I sat in the shade with a young woman selling tourist trinkets.
Right next to all that was a Nubian village, which was the best part of the visit. Talk about authentic. We walked up to a house which was billed as a cafe, which we were told had the cheapest Coke around. We walked up to the door and met the owner, who, as they always do, asked where we were from. “America,” we said.
“Ohio?” he responded hopefully. How the heck do they always know?
His home was a hoarder’s delight, filled with dead crocodiles, live ones, wonderful baskets and the treasures of his collections. Old watches, fossils, WWI gas masks, 1917 glass containers from – guess where – Cleveland, Ohio. We dutifully admired lots of his favorites and were impressed by his decorating. Matt Damon was a recent visitor, and was also very appreciative. We signed the visitors’ book, and marveled at one of those places in the middle of nowhere, where you just sit and the world comes to you.
After we had had our Coke, and paid proper respects, Don cannily negotiated with the ferry boat owner to take us back across the river to a place we keep passing with yearning glances – McDonalds. (We deserved a break today.) The place was packed with locals, so I guess our culture has some value here.
The cruise ships hit a record today, when we counted seven stacked cheek to jowl at the dock. Maybe there are just too many tourists here too?
We later decided to go off the beaten path and explore the local souk, having heard it wasn’t touristy. That was true. When we walked past the stalls, it was like fresh meat being fed to the lions. We ultimately gave up, as the persistence of the vendors and the haggling over prices were wearing us out. And why are there so many vendors all selling the same spices? Which of them makes a living?
We leave here at 6:00 tomorrow morning, heading for the airport and a flight back to Cairo.
did you get any souvenirs!! I’m sure the McDonald’s was amazing, sometimes you need something familiar. ❤️
We got just a few souvenirs, knowing full well they were mostly made in China. McDonald’s was a dream come true.
I, too, often wondered why the street sellers often lined up with similar items.