Day 102
Sleeping location: Taharka Nubian House, Aswan, Egypt
Distance (km today/total): 0 / 7902
Estimated climb (m today/total): 0 / 58600
Islands in the Nile: lots
Day in three words: Wait, Aswan’s nice
We enjoyed a lie in then went for separate wanders around the island. It was actually a really nice place, with two quiet Nubian villages of narrow dirt streets and apparently more goats than people. I accidentally went in the back gate of the archaeological complex and didn’t have to pay or get hassled, which was great. I figured Egypt owed me one by this point, and had a pleasant time wandering round the ruined temple and village in peace and quiet. The island also had two Nilometers, which are pits/passages open to the river with markings up the side to show the water depth. By using this it was possible to predict whether it would be a good, bad or dangerous flood*. One of the Nilometers had lots of steps down to the water, which made it an excellent place for a dip in the river. Just after this a tour boat came past and the guide pointed out the Nilometer, which now contained a topless wet man. I gave them a wave and got a few back, as well as some confused expressions.
The island also had a ramshackle but charming little museum about Nubian life. I was offered a 20 minute tour for 30 LE or half an hour for 40 LE, and went with the cheaper one. My guide then appeared to do the full tour but at 1.5x speed, which was very informative but at times overwhelming. She then charged me 40 anyway, but I was too charmed to care. After lunch we went on a boat ride with a nice man called Ali who had shown us to our hotel the night before. There are loads of islands on this stretch of the Nile and we picked our way between them, his motor struggling against the fierce current at times. It must have been a furious flow before the dam was built. As part of the boat ride we wandered round Lord Kitchener’s** botanic garden, which was lovely and also had a tree called the Bastard Cedar, which I found funny imagining said in a Yorkshire accent, as if a normal cedar had done something wrong. Ali dropped us in the main town and we had a brief wander around it, attracting the usual hassle for taxis and carriages but enjoying the riverside views a lot. We were both surprised at how beautiful Aswan is, I had mainly through of it as a transport/engineering hub. We’d have stayed longer but our visas are running out (we think - it isn’t very clear) so onwards we go.
*Brief history lesson. The Nile used to experience annual floods as a result of the rainy season in the Ethiopian mountains. These floods spread across the land and allowed the Egyptians to grow food, and create their incredible civilisations, in what is otherwise an extremely barren desert. The flood was therefore vital: a low flood meant food scarcity, and a high flood would damage buildings. The construction of the Aswan High Dam in the 1970s allowed Egypt to control the water flow year round, so there are no more floods and they can grow a lot more food.
**The guy on the famous “Wants you!” posters from WW1
Distance (km today/total): 0 / 7902
Estimated climb (m today/total): 0 / 58600
Islands in the Nile: lots
Day in three words: Wait, Aswan’s nice
We enjoyed a lie in then went for separate wanders around the island. It was actually a really nice place, with two quiet Nubian villages of narrow dirt streets and apparently more goats than people. I accidentally went in the back gate of the archaeological complex and didn’t have to pay or get hassled, which was great. I figured Egypt owed me one by this point, and had a pleasant time wandering round the ruined temple and village in peace and quiet. The island also had two Nilometers, which are pits/passages open to the river with markings up the side to show the water depth. By using this it was possible to predict whether it would be a good, bad or dangerous flood*. One of the Nilometers had lots of steps down to the water, which made it an excellent place for a dip in the river. Just after this a tour boat came past and the guide pointed out the Nilometer, which now contained a topless wet man. I gave them a wave and got a few back, as well as some confused expressions.
The island also had a ramshackle but charming little museum about Nubian life. I was offered a 20 minute tour for 30 LE or half an hour for 40 LE, and went with the cheaper one. My guide then appeared to do the full tour but at 1.5x speed, which was very informative but at times overwhelming. She then charged me 40 anyway, but I was too charmed to care. After lunch we went on a boat ride with a nice man called Ali who had shown us to our hotel the night before. There are loads of islands on this stretch of the Nile and we picked our way between them, his motor struggling against the fierce current at times. It must have been a furious flow before the dam was built. As part of the boat ride we wandered round Lord Kitchener’s** botanic garden, which was lovely and also had a tree called the Bastard Cedar, which I found funny imagining said in a Yorkshire accent, as if a normal cedar had done something wrong. Ali dropped us in the main town and we had a brief wander around it, attracting the usual hassle for taxis and carriages but enjoying the riverside views a lot. We were both surprised at how beautiful Aswan is, I had mainly through of it as a transport/engineering hub. We’d have stayed longer but our visas are running out (we think - it isn’t very clear) so onwards we go.
*Brief history lesson. The Nile used to experience annual floods as a result of the rainy season in the Ethiopian mountains. These floods spread across the land and allowed the Egyptians to grow food, and create their incredible civilisations, in what is otherwise an extremely barren desert. The flood was therefore vital: a low flood meant food scarcity, and a high flood would damage buildings. The construction of the Aswan High Dam in the 1970s allowed Egypt to control the water flow year round, so there are no more floods and they can grow a lot more food.
**The guy on the famous “Wants you!” posters from WW1
Comments
Post a Comment