Egypt: Day 9 - Edfu and Aswan

Good morning. For once, we're up at 6 am and not feeling too bad about it. Must be the amount we slept last night. After packing our stuff, we go downstairs and rouse everyone. We don't feel too bad about it as there's a French couple who's also leaving together with us. After a quick breakfast, we're off to the station. The station is nearby so we walk it, and at 7.30, we're on and off. Egypt's a pretty small place we realise - there's a whole lot of people from yesterday's morning tour that we meet at the station. All are going to either Edfu or Aswan. We find two empty seats, and when the TC comes along, we buy two tickets to Edfu. 9 am, we're there.

The Temple of Horus

We take a cab to the Temple and purchase the tickets at the counter for a now predictable LE 20. Rather reluctantly we have to leave our backpacks at the security counter, and we go inside the Temple. It's big. Massive is the word. The Temple is dedicated to the god Horus - the son of Osiris [the original mummy], and Isis. Horus is the god of life and good things, Satya informs me. No wonder the size of this temple. Those ancient Egyptians had their priorities right! We sit at the temple for a while - we have time to kill. This temple again has 3 chambers, and the innermost has a pink granite sanctum sanctorum, which is exquisitely carved. Carving hieroglyphics into granite is no joke, and one can only marvel at the art and the skills of the masons and artists. There were two large granite statues of Horus in his falcon form outside the temple; only one remains now. Satya sits to the side and sketches it in his journal. About noonish, we leave and head back to the station. I buy a couple of apples for lunch and Satya buys 2 cheap tickets in the unreserved compartment to Aswan. No one can say we don't travel in style. It strikes me then that so far, we have travelled by bus, train, bicycle, minibus, felucca, balloon, taxi and horse carriage and will be flying in the next couple of days too. Cool.

So we land up in Aswan at 2 pm and on schedule. On the way out of the station, we spy a tourist office and walk in. The local tourist officer subtly convinces us take the trip to Abu Simbel, and thereby contribute to the local economy. We are convinced and promise to return after checking into a hotel. We walk down to the Rosewan Hotel and check into room number 206, after a short chat with the affable owner, a gentleman named Farouk Nasser. More on him later. After checking in, we return to the tourist centre and get ourselves booked on the next morning's tour of Abu Simbel with a local travel agency. Bye Bye USD 100. At the tourist centre, we meet a young man called Montnasser who takes us to the bank and to whom we pay the cash. Very nice chap, and he knows more about Hindi movies and gossip than the two of us together. But then that's probably no feat.

Back to the hotel, we start chatting with Mr Nasser. He used to be working on the Aswan High Dam project, in charge of HR. After retirement, he now runs this hotel and paints in his spare time. And what paintings! All abstract - very reminiscent of my art teacher back in primary school [Hi Mr Gajjar!]. Pretty incomprehensible, but strangely soothing. The main characters in his paintings are women, chickens and pharaonic symbols such as ankhs and eyes. I can't get the connection. The problem with showing too much interest in things in Egypt is that it is automatically assumed that you want to buy something. So it is with Nasser. He invites us to tea and to discuss his work. But we are by now hardened veterans of these tricks, and we postpone the session until the next evening.

Every city in Egypt that lies on the banks of the Nile has a Corniche running alongside the river, and Aswan is no exception. That evening, we walk down to the Corniche-el-Nil [aka Corneesh Road]. The view of the Nile here is probably the best in Egypt and as the sun sets, it is simply SPECTACULAR. Brilliant blue waters with stark brown hillocks behind and white feluccas sailing serenely down. This place seems to be the focal point of civilisation in this town. What people say about Aswan seems to be mostly true. People don't seem to hassle you here as much as other cities. There are a lot of shops along the main road, banks, travel agencies and jewellery shops being the majority. It's a pretty long and winding road - we end up pretty winded at the end, if you'll pardon the pun.

Nubian Museum

At the end of the Corniche is the road that leads to the Nubian Museum. We walk up and presently find ourselves in front of a large and pretty ostentatious building. Surprisingly, the building houses a very modern, spacious and well laid out display, but it lacks the warmth that the Cairo museum exudes. That being said, the content and layout of the Museum are very well conceived. And the toilets are great, as I soon discover. The museum covers the history of Egypt from prehistoric times to modern days. There's a wealth of information on the two dams, and the moving of the Temples at Abu Simbel and the Temple of Philae. By the time we're done, we're frozen, and our feet are aching. We trudge back to the Rosewan - it's time to sleep, we have another early departure tomorrow.