Aswan is a romantic, laid-back city just north of the reservoir (Lake Nasser) which was formed by the Aswan Dam. Feluccas under full sail seem to drift aimlessly among the rocky islands that nearly dwarf the otherwise mighty river as it curves its way around the city. Cruise ships that started their journey in Luxor a couple of days before hug the East Bank, sometimes five deep, as they did in Luxor.
We took a boat ride to reach the Temple of Isis at Philae today. The ruins of the Egyptian temple were submerged when the Aswan High Dam was completed in 1971 and later reconstructed on a nearby island by UNESCO.
…..But let me digress for a few moments back to Luxor and the Nile Valley while my memories of that land of grand temples and pharaonic tombs are still fresh in my mind….
Jerry and I visited the royal tombs of the New Kingdom period (1150-1069 BC) in the Valley of the Kings on the West Bank. Lush green fields watered by the Nile’s man-made canals gave way to dry, brown desert sands. We descended into the burial chambers of Pharoahs which were buried deep in the sand. Armed guards protected the site.
But our repeated joy was riding in a horse-drawn carriage at various times of day and night in downtown Luxor to get up close and personal with the splendor of Luxor Temple (approx. 1300 BC) and its surroundings. At nighttime, when the graceful temple which sits high along the East Bank was lit up, it took my breath away.
We often forged our way through the narrow streets of the local market near the temple in a carriage. No more horn honking here – just the sounds of a vibrant market in action, our horse clomping, and our driver yelling out when someone in the street got too close to his carriage.
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Back in Aswan it’s a different world – a world where submerged antiquities are rescued and rebuilt on higher ground, and the sun sets over the dunes on the Nile’s West Bank. We just took our last boat ride around Aswan’s islands to say good-bye to a beautiful place.
We are off to Israel on a late night flight tonight.
Merrilee
