Egypt Day 4

Somehow, the timing was perfect for our flight to Aswan. We were all up and in the van with our driver by 3:45am, breakfast boxes in tow. I was the only one that really ate anything out of it though.. no one else is a morning eater-they’re normal and wait for their tummies to wake up-I wake up and tell my tummy “if I’m awake, you’re awake-let’s do this!” Haha-and now with taking the synthroid, that first hour of no food literally almost kills me every single day. I’m a real delight.

We got to the airport by 4 something, went through a huge security check point with all of our luggage, then stood in line to check our luggage, walked to the gate and went through another security scanner to get on the plane-this one also includes a quite thorough pat down by a lady only speaking Arabic.. it makes for an exciting morning, lots of attempts to make them smile and way too many hand gestures for what to do and where to go. It always works out, though. And we were on our plane by 5:36am.

When we touched down in Aswan, we were happy to realize this cute city is nowhere near as large as Cairo, so also nowhere near as chaotic. The driving is still a neat song and dance, with everyone weaving in and out of each other-somehow always managing to not tap one another. If I were driving, I would have a complete collection of other vehicle’s side mirrors. Im sure the Egyptians are thankful I didn’t think I’d manage driving us around on this tour!

Coming out of the airport, we met Osama, our tour guide for the next several days. He’ll be with us from now in Aswan, all the way until we fly back to Cairo from Luxor. He’s a quick witted guy, and so full of information that I think at first everyone was still a little stunned from all of the early morning travel and couldn’t keep up with him, the information about the area and the ancient history here.. but after some rest we all managed just fine. Funny how lack of sleep makes you miss all the jokes 😉 I’m picking up what he’s putting down, now! Ha

First thing, after getting to the van, we were driven to a port to get on a boat to go to Philea Temple.. which is on an island in the Nile River. Let me also say-I knew the Nile was a huge river, but I didn’t realize exactly HOW HUGE the river is. I mean, it sustains life for so much of Africa, going through 11 countries and is the second longest river in the world.. just slightly shorter than the Amazon River. It also flows from the south to the north, emptying out into the Mediterranean Sea. And it is wayyyyy wider than I realized.

Back to the temple. This temple was built somewhere else entirely, but was getting ruined by the flood waters of the Nile, so in the 1970s when the high dam of the Nile was finished being built, UNESCO world heritage organization paid to have the temple disassembled and reassembled on an island that wouldn’t flood and that they leveled out.

We took a cute boat over to the island, and thankfully I didn’t slip off of this one like I did in Italy. Small victories, here folks. Osama took us through the site, showing us the Greek and Roman influence of the pillars and showing the way the carvings inside the temple tell the story of Isis, the Goddess of magic, healing, and birth, her husband, Osiris, God of the green lands and killed by his brother, first to enter the underworld-and how Isis fought to bring him back for one night to be impregnated and have their son, Horus.

This temple was also the place where many Egyptians came to worship their gods when Christianity started to take over in the area and people who differed in beliefs would fight and kill each other. It was one of the last places for the ancient Egyptian religion to be practiced, since it was on an island and not so easily accessed. Again, forgive any misled details. There was so much information given and it’s difficult to relay it at all, let alone properly. It does make me want to enroll in some history classes though!

We retreated to the boat after walking through on our own and getting pictures of the architecture and beauty of the place.. attempting to avoid all of the crowd. There’s always a crowd! I really enjoyed the boat ride, personally. I always love being on or in water. Back at the van, we made our way through downtown Aswan, and Osama was able to get us an early lunch at a cute little restaurant. It wasn’t open yet, but they graciously let us wait in a lobby with cushy chairs until they were ready for us inside the restaurant.

This may have been my favorite meal yet-don’t laugh-but it was PIZZA! It was perfection! Andrea and I also got a shawarma-a wrap with meat, grilled veggies and dipped in a sauce, served with fries. It was all delicious. All of us seemed to like this meal, too, not just me-so I think it was actually pretty good and not my post trail stomach enjoying everything that comes with bread.

We got to our hotel, Tolip Hotel, and checked in. It was beautiful! Pinkish red marble accents, chandeliers, a true gem. We unloaded our stuff (well, the bell hop did) and explored a little bit. Then all hung out in our rooms and rested. Everyone took a nap, except me, because I don’t nap well. If I had fallen asleep, I’d probably still be asleep now. I listened to my book and uploaded pictures, and scrolled the internet while sitting on the balcony staring out at the Nile River. What a stunning view.

At 4pm, we met Osama in the lobby and he took us across the street to the river, and onto another boat. We had a nice sunset ride up the river to a Nubian Village. The colors are incredible! The Nubians paint every brick in vivid bright colors-with gorgeous patterns and lively scenes. We were able to visit a house and tour the inside. And the upstairs balconies as well. The hosts were kind and welcoming, even giving us some tea to drink.

They had crocodiles to showcase, too. And, well, I’m about as fond of a reptile larger than me as I am of snakes. I peeked and then left before anyone got the bright idea of getting one out. No thank you. We walked through their markets and Andrea and I got some dresses-we are both horrible hagglers. This man tried to sell us a dress for $100! USD! Sir, are you on crack? Like I realize they set it crazy high to argue it down, but at that high price I’d rather just walk away. I find the whole thing of standing around arguing over price extremely annoying. It’s why I enjoy ordering online-no talking about my purchases required. Let me shop AND BUY in peace.

Osama saw my face and came in to help, he got us down a lot lower than where Andrea and I were, and then got the man to give us a scarf, too.. hahaha-so, I know we overpaid, but we paid a hell of a lot less than $100 a dress! Insane. And stressful. I wonder if they bargain on absolutely everything? I told Andrea on the ride back, it would be like bargaining in Kroger for the chicken to be a quarter of the listed price. It’s just not an easy concept for us to manage.. I feel like it makes us think everyone is a cheat or a swindler, I have enough trust issues as it is-no need to bring shopping into it.

We really loved the peaceful boat ride back to the hotel, it was dark outside and the lights were beautiful. There was music playing and it was wonderful to just soak in the moment. Like, we’re really here. We’re really enjoying these crazy chaotic days with our mamas at our sides, taking it all in, too. What could possibly be better?

Back at the hotel, we walked around a good 20-30 minutes until we found the restaurant. We got the buffet and filled up our bellies before making our way back to the rooms. Tomorrow is another very early day, because we’re going to Abu Simbel Temples-and this has been a bucket list visit since planning this whole trip. The problem? It’s a 3 hour drive to get there. Whoops. Sorry, guys!