Breakfast buffet at
Omar's Cafe at the hotel. One egg omelet with ham, onion, tomatoes, cheese. Fruit, mini pastry, coffee. Richard had fruit and juice.
Very early pick up 6:30 am by Adel, our driver. Taking us to the airport for our
flight today from Cairo to Aswan. Fairid is with us also. He helps us navigate with our flight tickets, baggage, etc. This is a short flight. Departs 9:30 am. Uneventful.
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Our flight is MS 393
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| Boarding our flight |
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| View from plane |
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| Aswan International Airport |
ASWAN. Egypt's southernmost city. Lovely setting on the Nile. Charm. Feluccas glide past ancient ruins and the enormous rocks of Elephantine Island. Palms, tropical shrubs. African ambience. Nubians-primary people of the Nile between Aswan and Khartoum. Nubian life was centered around villages of extended families. Farming the verges of the river-date palms, corn, durra melons, fishing, This way of life continued until the Aswan Dams. Forced the Nubians to move to higher, unfertile ground. Not able to exist on agriculture many went to Cairo. With construction of the High Dam the Nubians' traditional homeland was entirely submerged and displaced the entire community. Half moved north settling around aswan and Koa Ombo. Rest went to the Sudan. Aswan is situated near the Tropic of Cancer-hot and dry nearly all year.
Met at Aswan airport by ?? Our hotel is
MOVENPICK. It's located on Elephantine Island. We take a ferry across the Nile to the hotel. Our check in is like all the others we've had. No problems with our reservation....... Our room is #112. We have been upgraded to a junior suite. The bedroom and full bath are on the upper level with the living room and half bath on the lower level. Large terrace with a view of the Nile. We decide to wash out some underwear.
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| Approaching our hotel via hotel ferry |
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Living room
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| Half bath on lower level |
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Terrace
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View from our terrace
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Looking at our room from outside
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Bedroom on upper level
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| Bathroom on upper level |
We head to the
pool. There is also a children's pool. It is very hot in Aswan! The current temperature is displayed on a sign by the pool. It's 105.8˚F outside with water temperature in the pool at 77˚F.
We have a private
FELUCCA sail booked for 3:00 pm. Originally it was to have been a sunset sail starting at 4:00 pm. Oh well.
Glory of Nubia. It was fabulous. Tea and cakes. Abdul is the guide on the boat who points out some things to us as we sail. Tombs of the Nobles, Mausoleum of the Aga Khan-his winter villa, Aswan Botanical Garden, Kabasha Temple. We return around 6:00 pm. The earlier time ended up working well for us as it allowed us to do some sightseeing in the evening.
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| There were 2 guys handling the felucca |
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Pampered!
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Mausoleum of the Aga Khan
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Tombs of the Nobles
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The Botanical Garden is on Kitchener's Island
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There's our hotel's tower
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Next is a taxi to the
NUBIA MUSEUM. Admission 50 LE per person. Detailing the region's culture. It was very nicely organized and labeled with a good deal of descriptive information. My pictures did not turn out so well. Our taxi driver waits one hour for us and then drops us off at the souk. Cost 50 LE.
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| Nubia Museum |
SOUK. Traditional wares such as spices, baskets, rugs along with touristy souvenir shops. Very atmospheric. Lots of people, shops, colors, smells. I stopped at one store that had lots of galabayas for sale. On the Nile cruise there will be one night where you are encouraged to wear Egyptian clothing. I've decided to buy a galabaya which is a dress. Originally 180 LE but I got mine for 150 LE. I hate to haggle over price but it is expected in Egypt. I'm just not very good at it! We had a nice leisurely walk through the souk, soaking in the sights and sounds-the atmosphere.
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I could kick myself for not buying any spices!
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Shop where I bought my galabaya
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Then not far to walk to where we catch the hotel ferry back to Movenpick. Richard is not hungry. He has a headache. Maybe this heat has done him in. I went to the ala carte restaurant-
ORANGIE-at the hotel for something light. Caesar salad but it had way too much dressing on it. The waiter was concerned that I hadn't eaten much of my salad but I didn't want to say anything. Rolls and a coke. Cost without tip 57 LE.
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Ferry to our hotel
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| Our hotel |
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