Day 24 - Monday 7 May - Aswan

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5:30 wake up today, although I preempted that and woke up at 5:00.

Last of the Prince Abbas breakfasts today, then we headed out to the Temple of Kalabsha, and the other temples that had also been rescued from rising lake waters and put there.

Soviet-Egyptian Friendship Monument and south side of Aswan High Dam
Soviet-Egyptian Friendship Monument and south side of Aswan High Dam

Temple of Kalabsha
Temple of Kalabsha

Temple of Kalabsha
Temple of Kalabsha

Interior of the Temple of Beit el-Wali
Interior of the Temple of Beit el-Wali

Interior of the Temple of Beit el-Wali
Interior of the Temple of Beit el-Wali

Structures south of the Temple of Kalabsha
Structures south of the Temple of Kalabsha

Kiosk of Qertassi
Kiosk of Qertassi

Temple of Kalabsha
Temple of Kalabsha

Interior of the Temple of Kalabsha
Interior of the Temple of Kalabsha

Came back and then left the Prince Abbas for good.

Got a minivan over the Aswan High Dam and stopped on top for some photos.

The Nile River below Aswan High Dam<br/>Photo by Dad
The Nile River below Aswan High Dam
Photo by Dad

Temple of Kalabsha and barge on Lake Nasser
Temple of Kalabsha and barge on Lake Nasser

North face of Aswan High Dam
North face of Aswan High Dam

Power station at Aswan High Dam
Power station at Aswan High Dam

Soviet-Egyptian Friendship Monument at Aswan High Dam
Soviet-Egyptian Friendship Monument at Aswan High Dam

Soviet-Egyptian Friendship Monument at Aswan High Dam
Soviet-Egyptian Friendship Monument at Aswan High Dam

Soviet-Egyptian Friendship Monument at Aswan High Dam
Soviet-Egyptian Friendship Monument at Aswan High Dam

Then down to through Aswan to the Nile where we had a felucca boat ride down the Nile. That was pretty amazing and very peaceful.

View towards Aswan High Dam
View towards Aswan High Dam

View north along the Nile at Aswan
View north along the Nile at Aswan

Felucca on the Nile with the Tombs of the Nobles
Felucca on the Nile with the Tombs of the Nobles

Felucca on the Nile, El-Tabia Mosque and tour boats moored along the Nile
Felucca on the Nile, El-Tabia Mosque and tour boats moored along the Nile

This brought us to our new ship, the Giselle, a couple of kilometres down the river.

MS Giselle at Aswan
MS Giselle at Aswan

Checked in and had lunch. This ship does buffet style meals instead of off a menu, but the buffets looked amazing. Also a lot more people on this boat (forty - seems a lot to us after the last boat of twenty one, but till nowhere near the boat's full capacity).

My room on the MS Giselle
My room on the MS Giselle

Pool on the MS Giselle
Pool on the MS Giselle

Lounge area on the MS Giselle
Lounge area on the MS Giselle

Lunch buffet on the MS Giselle
Lunch buffet on the MS Giselle

After lunch I lay down for a little while and attempted to sleep.

Then we headed out again to see a "Nubian Village". Actually the boat trip up the Nile I enjoyed more, getting to see some sights and lots of different birds. The village itself is a mudbrick village on an island in the Nile made up of people that were displaced by the filling of the dam. We were with some other groups, so it was like taking all these rich white people to see how the poor people lived, which made me feel a bit weird. Lots of little kids coming up with their hands out too asking for "baksheesh". At this point I was kicking myself that I'd forgotten the little bundle of pens that I brought for just this purpose. We stopped in one of the houses and went upstairs for some tea, which was nice.

El-Tabia Mosque
El-Tabia Mosque

Felucca and Elephantine Island
Felucca and Elephantine Island

Movenpick Tower on Elephantine Island
Movenpick Tower on Elephantine Island

Sand dune from the Sahara Desert butting up against the Nile River
Sand dune from the Sahara Desert butting up against the Nile River

View towards the Tombs of the Nobles
View towards the Tombs of the Nobles

Aga Khan Mausoleum
Aga Khan Mausoleum

I think some sort of heron on the banks of the Nile
I think some sort of heron on the banks of the Nile

European bee-eater on the banks of the Nile
European bee-eater on the banks of the Nile

Mud brick buildings on Elephantine Island
Mud brick buildings on Elephantine Island

Art work on the side of a building
Art work on the side of a building

Doorways to houses on Elephantine Island
Doorways to houses on Elephantine Island

Interior of the house we visited on Elephantine Island
Interior of the house we visited on Elephantine Island

Crocodile in the house we visited on Elephantine Island<br/>Photo by Dad
Crocodile in the house we visited on Elephantine Island
Photo by Dad

Mud bricks on Elephantine Island
Mud bricks on Elephantine Island

Hopped on the boat again to go further down the same island to the Movenpick hotel for high tea at the top. The little restaurant area has three sixty degree views of Aswan and the river so had some nibblies and some yummy lemon drink and watched the sunset.

Feluccas on the Nile
Feluccas on the Nile

Movenpick Building and Tower on Elephantine Island
Movenpick Building and Tower on Elephantine Island

View over the Nile to the city of Aswan<br/>Photo by Dad
View over the Nile to the city of Aswan
Photo by Dad

View from Movenpick Tower
View from Movenpick Tower

View from Movenpick Tower
View from Movenpick Tower

High Tea in the Movenpick Tower
High Tea in the Movenpick Tower

Back on another boat to get back to our big boat. They said we could sit on the roof if we wanted so I jumped at the chance (since the sun had set). There wasn't actually any seats so I stood there, but it was really pretty cruising down the Nile in the twilight.

Felucca on the Nile at dusk
Felucca on the Nile at dusk

Tombs of the Nobles at dusk
Tombs of the Nobles at dusk

El-Tabia Mosque by night
El-Tabia Mosque by night

Dinner was spectacular, but then we've come to expect that ;) But I actually ate very little (been eating far too much!).

Dinner buffet on the MS Giselle
Dinner buffet on the MS Giselle

Table set for dinner on the MS Giselle
Table set for dinner on the MS Giselle

Then to blog and bed.


Distance covered on the GPS: 51.2 km
Steps walked: 9584
Photos on the Canon: 317
Photos on the Sony: 36
Videos: 8
EGP Spent: 245

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