Waking up in Aswan

Arriving in Aswan

Around 7am the train steward, Tamer, woke me up to ask about breakfast. I had actually slept well and aside form the smoking I really enjoyed the train ride. Sometime after arriving in Cairo I began to feel ill - head cold, throat pain and chest congestion sort of thing. The incessant smoking only exacerbated the throat pain. I made it a point to drink a lot of bottled water on the train and feeling a bit better. I was looking forward to checking in at the hotel and getting a shower in. I could still feel the sand from the Giza pyramids in my ears.

 

Aswan train station

Checking In

After a short drive we arrived at the Iberotel Aswan. The hotel lobby was very nice. It was around 9am, so the room wasn't ready. After about 30 minutes they had the room ready. I didn't mind waiting since the lobby had WiFi and I wanted to update my blog. The guide that picked me up said he would return in 90 minutes to allow me to relax and shower. The schedule included visiting High Dam and Pilae Island followed by a return trip to Pilae Island for a light and sound show at night.  Since I hadn't yet gotten the room yet I told him 2 hours would be fine. I wanted to shower and unwind a bit. Recalling the exhausting earlier day I knew I needed some time to relax.

The hotel is broken up into two parts: the main building and suites along the pool. Immediately behind the pool is the Nile, making for a very nice view. To my surprise, I'd get one of the one bedroom suites  next to the pool. Based on the previous day's non stop activities, my initial thought was that the nice room was a waste.

 

Model of hotel complex

View from Balcony

High Dam

High Dam was build in the 1950s to control flooding around the Nile River and generate electricity. It's the 2nd largest dam in the world, even bigger than Hoover Dam in Nevada. We went to the observation area which was rather boring. You literally are on top of the dam and have no grasp of the magnitude of the structure. The politics behind the dam are rather interesting, but the construction of the bridge was largely sponsored by the former Soviet Union. The Egyptians would bill a monument titled "Lotus Flower" (in my hand below) to symbolize the Arab-Soviet friendship created as a result of the dam.

 

Me holding the Lotus Flower, Generators outside the dam

Philae Island

After spending about an hour over at High Dam he made our way to Philae Island. We would board a powered Egyptian Felucca to ferry over.

 

Felucca's at the doc to Philae

After about a leisurely 15 minute fairy ride we were at the island. The island was incredible! What's even more incredible is the fact that all structures were moved to this island in the 1960s. The United Nations created a project to move the temple after it was determined the temple would be flooded after construction of the High Dam was complete. Everything was moved and recreated exactly as it was on the original island. After about an hour and a half on the island we head back to the hotel. In a couple of hours I would return for a light and sound show on the island.

 

Arriving at the island

 

Me, outside the temple

 

Amazing columns  with detailed inscriptions

 

Approaching the temple

 

Me, behind several entryways

 

 

View from island

 

Philae Island Light and Sound Show

If I had to do it over again, the way to experience the island is at night. The light and sound show was pretty cool. A well done narration in English tells the story of the symbols throughout the temple. I figured food would be available on the island, as it was during the day, but my guide said everyone would be closed. He suggested stopping for quick food at...McDonald's. I saw a KFC and suggested we go there, but he advised otherwise. "Not all of the Colonel's 11 herbs and spices have made it over to Egypt", he jokes. Who am I to turn down the golden arches. After a quick stop we were off to the island.


The Island at Night

 

It was the night of a full moon!

 

The light show was fun, albeit a little cheesy

 

It was very cool being on the island at night

Returning Home

I got back home around 9:30pm. The next morning I was due up at 2:45 and scheduled to leave at 3:30 to tour the Abu Simbel temples recommended by Osama. The temples are around 180 miles south of Aswan, only about 40 miles north of Egypt's southern neighbor Sudan. The drive was expected to take about 3-4 hours.