Aswan and Philae

Today was a grand adventure, taking a small ferry ride to visit the Temple on the island of Philae, and then to visit a Numbian Village nearby.

The Temple was massive, and easily seen from the water. That was cool enough. But then we entered and found even more treats.

Ahmed did his usual orientation, including the smaller temple to the side, built by the Roman Agustus Caesar when he passed through here. Both the Romans and the Greeks commissioned temples to try and convince the locals that there were the proper heirs to the throne of Egypt. It was early PR at its best.

You'll note the microphone Ahmed is using--that fed into earphones for us, so that we could hear what he was saying without having to interrupt other visitors.

After visiting both temples, we were off in the boat again, this time to view the dam on the Nile and then visit a Nubian village. The people here were displaced by the dam's construction and resulting reservoir, and built villages on the shores of the lake soon afterward.

They believe that their houses must be built within sight of the Nile, so the villages stack up the hills to allow each house its own line of sight. The color blue is a big favoriate there.

We were treated to a visit to a local home, a dance and drumming performance, and a very calm and pleasant group of woman who sold their local products. We bought some cloth they used as a tablecloth--we might cover some chairs in our cabin with it.

And then it was back to Aswan to sail on a felucca back to the ship. As a long-time sailor on San Francisco Bay, I was delighted by the fact that our boat had no motor, and proved faster than our companion's boat. And it is a very peaceful way to travel the Nile.