Eternal Nile Day 8
Eternal Nile
DAY 8 - Saturday, December 4, 2004 - Visit Aswan Dams, Temple of Philae, Visit Nubian Museum, Check In, Light & Sound Show at Philae
We were up, showered and out for breakfast at 7:45. Gennie was feeling much better but still very weak. She was a trooper all day, going to all the sights. Our luggage was immediately picked up to be transported to our new hotel in Aswan, Elephantine Island Resort.
We had breakfast on-board the River Hathon and bid adieu to the crew as we left the ship at 8:30. We had the opportunity to walk through several cruise ships to get to shore. Docking space is so limited (there were over 60 cruise ships docked) that they sometimes are moored 6 deeps on a single quay. Once on shore we were picked up by our bus driver, loaded on, and we left for our first discovery.
We had a short tour of the city following the Nile River. It is so interesting to see the driving habits of Egyptians. Our driver goes quite fast and uses his horn liberally. But all Egyptians toot their horns.
There is also a drive in the left hand lane syndrome here. Some even straddle lanes and play chicken with other cars. At night most drive with no lights, using only their beams when they want to pass.
At the outskirts of town we drove to the Old Nile Dam and saw it as we drove across the top. We then proceeded to the new dam built in 1971 - the Aswan High Dam. Shahinaz briefed us on the history of the both dams, the geo-political aspects in the building and then the pro and cons of the High Dam.
A. G. Nasser built the high dam with the help of the USSR to control the flooding that occurred yearly in the Nile Valley and forever changed the agricultural rhythms of Egypt. We hear how the Egyptian farmers improved their ability to control their crops.
We stopped on top and were able to take pictures. What is so frightening about this dam is that if it ever ruptured is would destroy most of the inhabitable areas of Egypt. There is so much water behind the dam that a tower of water would run to the Mediterranean Sea.
From the High Dam we went back across the Old Dam and turned into the boat anchorage for the Temple of Philae. We got on a craft, motored to the island that now houses these impressive edifices. The Old Dam at Aswan routinely caused the Philae Temple of Isis and several smaller temples to be submerged six months of every year, and the High Dam threatened to bury them forever.
To preserve the temples, the Egyptian government spearheaded an effort to save them. A spectacular international rescue operation, sponsored by UNESCO, was undertaken to dismantle the structures and ferry them to Agilkia Island, where they were reassembled in their entirety between 1972 and 1980.
The Temple of Isis features courtyards flanked by granite lions and walls covered with depictions of ancient gods and goddesses. The island's most recognizable sight is Trajan's Kiosk, with its 14 majestic stone pillars. We toured all the sights and were given 30 minutes of free time to explore and take photos on our own.
The day had become quite hot and standing in the sun was difficult for many. We returned to our water craft and motored back to shore. Our other OAT group's boat stopped dead in the water so we gave them a tow to the dock. We got back on the bus and drove back to Aswan where we went to visit the Nubian Museum.
The Nubian Museum, an impressive architectural facility, was designed to preserve the Nubian heritage. This relatively new facility displays artifacts saved before Lake Nasser flooded the area behind the Aswan High Dam, erasing the traditional homelands of the Nubian people.
More than 3,000 objects are preserved here, including a black granite bust of Tahraqa, the prosperous 7th-century Nubian king. The museum's open-concept floor plan means that you can get quite close to many of its relic's and monuments, some 4,000 years old. This is one of the best museum's I have seen as it is well laid out, progresses historically, and is so well displayed and marked.
At 1 PM we went to lunch across the street from the Museum and then returned to the bus to be taken to the River and the hotel. When we arrived at the dock across from the Elephantine Island Resort we were dropped off and we walked down to get into the boat to take us across to the island.
We checked in at 2:30 and had the rest of the afternoon to ourselves. I promptly found out that the hotel had no internet so I took the boat back across to the main street and found a very fast internet location. When I walked back, I this time had the ferry to take me across.
Upon returning to the hotel I found that our room was not cooling at all. After close to 90 minutes, Shahinaz told the desk to get me a new room. She had called the Resort to tell them that we should get a room with good A/C but just our luck. At 5 PM we finally moved in, unpacked and then left at 5:25 to go on another adventure.
We returned to the Philae Temple for a well-designed and interesting sound and light show. By the time we got there it was very dark and the temples were well lit. Quite impressive to see the buildings from the water in such splendor.
At 7:30 we returned home for dinner at the hotel and Gennie and I decided to skip - we have eaten so much that we could miss meals for the rest of the trip and be much healthier.
We returned to our room to receive a call from Shahinaz telling us that because we had not eaten dinner tonight the hotel would give us a meal tomorrow night - a dinner that was scheduled to be on our own.
Shahinaz has been terrific! She is there to solve all the problems, she is an expert on Egypt and its history and does it all without notes. One of the best we have ever had.
Accommodations: Aswan Movenpick Hotel - - - Meals: B, L, D
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