Aswan Highlights

Sunday, September 24, 2023
Aswan, Aswan Governorate, Egypt
Waking early in Aswan, we were on the way by 6.45 to beat the heat as it is still 25 degrees but over 40 expected later today.
Aswan has always been of great strategic importance. The river is wide and beautiful here.
Our first stop was Aswan High Dam - one of worlds highest embankment dams. There was a very high military presence here with lots of soldiers, tanks and machine guns (obviously no photos allowed of this!). As the dam only impacts on river flows in Egypt itself, no other country had any objections. It was huge, but google images from above show the sheer size of the river and the dam. 
We then stopped at a workshop/store that sells beautiful papyrus prints. We were shown how they were made (those ancient Egyptians were clever!) and we did buy one for home. 
Our next stop was Philae Temple. Until the International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia, the temple complex was located on Philae Island, near the expansive First Cataract of the Nile in Upper Egypt. These rapids and the surrounding area have been variously flooded since the initial construction of the Aswan Low Dam in 1902. The temple complex was dismantled and moved to nearby Agilkia Island as part of the UNESCO Nubia Campaign project, protecting this and other complexes before the 1970 completion of the Aswan High Dam. The hieroglyphic reliefs of the temple complex are incredible.
The Philae Temple was built by the last dynasty of ancient Egypt, the Ptolemaic. It is dedicated to Isis, the goddess of healing, birth, and magic, her husband Osiris, and their son Horus. The temple is one of the last places where ancient Egyptian religion survived after Christianity swept the shores in 550AD. 
Because it is on an island, we had to get a boat trip there which was quite lovely. The site itself,  because of its location near the water, was picturesque but just the thought of relocating this huge temple (massive block by massive block) is just phenomenal. 
We returned to land via boat and then visited the Unfinished Obelisk. 
As its name suggests, the Obelisk - which would have been the heaviest single stone monument (1067 tonne) the Egyptians ever created - was never finished. Three sides of the enormous shaft were completed when the masons discovered a crack in the granite and abandoned it, still half attached to the bedrock it was being carved from. It is hard to gauge from
pictures but it is just huge!
After all that, we returned to the boat for a rest and then it was time to head to the Old Cataract Hotel for High Tea. This hotel is just gorgeous. Owned by the Egyptian Government the premises are currently operated by Sofitel under lease. 
Its guests have included Tsar Nicholas IIWinston ChurchillHoward CarterMargaret ThatcherJimmy CarterFrançois MitterrandPrincess DianaQueen Noor and Agatha Christie, who set portions of her novel Death on the Nile at the hotel. The 1978 film of the novel was shot at the hotel. 
High Tea was divine and the view overlooking the Nile as sunset hit, with all the feluccas in the river was just picturesque. Definitely the hotel to stay in Aswan!! After this, we sat upstairs on the boat in the bar (still nearly 40 degrees!) listening to the city sounds (and the calls to prayer). We couldn’t eat much dinner but watched the belly dancing entertainment. Quite a full, diverse and interesting day!
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