Monday 16-Mar-2009
Today, there is an optional visit to Abu Simbel to see the temples. I'm travelling to Abu Simbel tomorrow, so I'm not going on the Optional visit. When Mr. Ahmed from the tour company comes to discuss the slightly-altered flight details for tomorrow, he offers to arrange the trip I have in mind. I want to go to Elephantine Island to see the Aswan Museum and the temple remains at the adjacent archaeological site. Since I enjoyed the felucca trip so much yesterday, I decline the offered motor boat and insist on a felucca. A price is agreed and, within an hour, Mr. Ahmed returns for me and a felucca is waiting near the stern of the 'Zahra'.
We board the felucca and the master and his young assistant move the craft out into the river. Two more Nile cruisers are moored abreast just behind 'Zahra' so extricating the felucca is not too straight forward, requiring the crew to balance on the gunwhales pulling and pushing whatever part of the adjacent vessel they can reach. Once in clear water, the massive sail is deployed and we are soon moving upstream at a good pace, past lines of Nile Cruisers moored along Aswan's Corniche. We first dock at a landing place nearer Aswan's 'Downtown'. Here, Mr. Ahmed gets off and an English-speaking guide boards and we carry on south along the east channel of the Nile between Aswan and Elephantine Island. Numerous motor ferries criss-cross to the island but we have left the Nile Cruisers behind - they cannot get this far upstream. As we approach the landing place for the Aswan Museum, the young man hauls on the rope controlling the outer end of the boom, pulling the boom vertical against the main mast and collapsing the sail. We are then controlled by the tiller alone until we nose into the angle between the concrete steps of the landing and a moored boat and come to a surprisingly gentle stop.
The guide and I climb the steps towards the museum, stopping at the fairly modern security building. Everywhere there is security, usually with armed guards. There's usually a metal detector arch you're required to walk through which generally makes a threatening noise when you pass but it doesn't seem to worry them. Bags and possessions pass through an X-ray machine. However, this time we're waved past security and enter the museum without checks. It was originally the house of the Englishman responsible for building the first Aswan Dam. It's rather down-at-heel but with lots of good exhibits and I love its faded charm. After giving me an introduction to the layout, my guide leaves me to wander round. From time to time I'm shadowed by (presumably) a member of staff and we exchange a few words.
Rejoining my guide, we move to the adjacent archaeological site where some of the temple buildings are being restored by courtesy, once again, of UNESCO. This was a major township and there are extensive remains of the dwellings in mud brick. Everywhere is littered with pottery shards. Finally, I look at the Nilometer (I think it's really a hydrometer but everyone calls them Nilometer). It's just a chamber connected to the river with markings to show the level. In this one, you can descend 90 steps to see the water, currently at low level, lapping the lower steps. The wall of the steps carries both ancient and modern level markings.
Then it's back to the waiting felucca and go downstram, dropping off the guide and then continuing back the the 'Zahra'. Although we're going with the current, a lot of tacking is necessary to make progress. It's hard work for the crew but very enjoyable for their passenger.
I'm back on the 'Zahra' for one o'clock, nice timing for lunch. I take it in the dining room with a few others. Later, I discover there are more people having lunch on the Sun Deck. As soon as the people who've been on the Abu Simbel trip return, a little after two, we cast off for what they call a 'joy sail', up and down the river, returning to our original moorings.
There's one more activity today. At five o'clock we're to go by motor boat to Mango Island for a demonstration of Nubian Folk Dancing before returning to the boat for dinner.
For some reason, the performance area was very poorly lit and it was hard to follow some of the frantic dances. A couple of electricians worked on the sidelines to improve matters. They did get a couple of spots to work, but they were positioned behind the performers rather than in front so it didn't help as much as it should have done.
Audience participation was then required and, being unable to come up with a suitable excuse, Jan was dragooned into the conga line. I expected things to go on a couple of minutes but there were a number of 'changes' involving couples, fours and larger rings accompanied by all sorts of movements and various whoops and shouts. It all lasted a lot longer than my legs did. The photographic evidence was kindly provided by my Friend Jean Findlay, who coined the soubriquet 'Dancing Queen' having watched my antics.
In the morning, we'll disembark from 'Zahra' and say goodbye to all our new friends.
Pictures of Felucca
Pictures of Museum & Temple Site.
Pictures of Mango Island.
