Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Aswan

The furthest I have traveled in Egypt was to Aswan. The trip entailed a train ride that was about 10 hours each way, maybe 11 on the way back actually. The train wasn't always moving but, with derailments always a possibility, making it to my destination in one piece gives me no room to complain. So was it worth about a day's worth of discomfort? Um, yeah.

Aswan is a nice mix of Egyptian and Nubian culture. Coming from the hustle and bustle of Cairo, Aswan was like going to the Caribbean when you're used to New York City. No one is in a rush and everyone is in love with Bob Marley.

We went to Elephantine Island and visited Animalia, a museum nestled in a house run by one man. He took us through the history of Nubia and the life of Nubians. We had lunch on the terrace and tried not to cringe while we ate bread that was baked on a disc that was just learned was made of cow dung. The rooftop terrace felt like a tree house and the homemade lunch was just what we needed.

We went to the Nubian Museum which puts the Cairo Museum to shame (though that's not exactly hard) with its state of the art facilities and realistic model displays. We also hit up some ruins and the botanical gardens. I think we made the most of our time there. As much as we did, we mostly relaxed- on feluccas, riverside, in ancient temples.

Men's side of the boat.

Women's side.


Botanical garden.

Something really old.

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