We flew on “Nile Air” for just over an hour from Cairo to Aswan. We were met at the airport by our driver and guide and taken to see the High Dam over the Nile. We were told about the history of the Nile and the flooding and the dam politics and funding. We learned a little about the Nubian (indigenous agricultural) communities that were relocated due to the building of the dam.
Then we went to a pier and climbed in a little old motor boat, guided by a Numbian man, that took us to an island to see the Temple of Philae (a shrine to Isis). It was cool to walk around and learn from our guide. He was great with our kids and they impressed him with some of their knowledge of Egyptian gods. I learned a lot and my brain was getting pretty full, trying to learn some Arabic and some hieroglyphics!
Our Cruise
We had three nights on our cruise ship and were pleased when we arrived. The two cabins we had were bigger than our Norway ‘ferry / cruise’ and everything felt very comfortable. The food was plentiful and tasty, with lots of choices at every meal. There was a small cold pool on the top deck, which the kids really enjoyed during our free time. Best of all, it was calm and pleasant to hang out in one place for 3 days and the ‘place’ was the lovely Nile. No rolling waves, storms or seasickness on an African river cruise!
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| Boarding our cruise ship |
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| Sundeck looking over the Nile |
We boarded a traditional Felucca sailboat and were
taken with our guide and two Nubian fellows to an island. We walked around a
lush green botanical garden and then sailed back at sunset. Unfortunately,
there wasn’t much wind at all so our trip home was very slow. It was peaceful
but we needed to be patient as the sun sank and we got chilled before we
finally made it back on board the big ship.
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| Our Cruise ship |
The next morning we arrived at Kom Ofu temple, which
celebrates two gods: Haroesis and Sobek. We walked around for about an hour and
then went into the crocodile to see mummified crocodiles which was
totally bizarre.
After some chill time cruising along the Nile, we stopped at Edfu and climbed into some rustic horse drawn carriages to get to the Temple of Horus. Ava was really stoked when she was able to hold the reigns to drive the carriage for a few minutes.
In the evening, after a marvelous sunset, we sailed through
two locks to descend down river, which was fun to experience while on board.
Later in the night we arrived at Luxor, which will be the
subject of the next blog entry, and the end of the Nile River Cruise.
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