The tourist information stand was closed and we ended up getting lured into a random hotel waiting for a guide to make us an offer

Everyone has heard of Luxor and it’s temples or of Giza and It’s pyramids. However when people think of Aswan they think of the dam. Although the official name is Nasser Dam, after the President under whose rule the dam was built. Nevertheless people did often hear about Philae Temple. Likewise I think anyone that knows anything about Egypt will confirm they heard about Abu Simbel. To admire those wonderful sights the perfect base camp is Aswan. Trips to these are often part of any group travel that stops in Aswan. However arranging all of it yourself as an independent traveller is not always as easy as stepping on a bus. Find out in this post how we handled it.

Aswan Day 1: Haggling

• Sights:       None
• Lodging:   Orchida St George
• Budget:    £ 290

No tourists allowed

We woke up in Luxor in the Eatabe hotel with our wonderful view on the Nile. After enjoying the hotel breakfast buffet, we met up with our new friend, Gino the Argentino, at the train station. our intention was to take a microbus to Aswan. However after getting shipped back and forth from one microbus station, while each time the locals assured us the busses to Aswan left from the other one. One guy was called in for his English skills and it became clear they could not take tourists on board without the proper license. So we ended up back at the train station right where we started and got on the next train to Aswan.

Finding a way

Amazingly enough the cab we flagged down was driven by a boy no older than 14

In Aswan we parted ways to our respective hotels. We pushed through the crowd of taxi drivers at the exit of the statin and walked to the bigger road along the Nile. Amazingly enough the cab we flagged down was driven by a boy no older than 14! The good thing was he haggled less than the older drivers so we did not pay too much for him to drop us off a bit further down the road. I had booked with my avios for 2 nights in Orchida St George. A rundown once 3 star hotel with basic rooms and shower en suite. I’ve had better hostels for less. But it was free so we didn’t complain.

Tourist info?

We waited for a guide to make us an offer for transport to Abu Simbel

We met back up at the station with Gino to ask at the tourist, how we could get to Abu Simbel the next day. The information we found online was at best dubious and most of the time outdated. Some talked about convoys others mentioned they were abolished some years ago. We hoped to get clarification at the tourist info stand. The stand was closed however (not enough tourists I guess) and we ended up getting lured into a  random hotel. We waited for a guide to make us an offer for transport to Abu Simbel. That offer ended up being first 50 and then 25 dollars per person. Since Gino’s hotel had offered him a ride for the day after tomorrow for 170 LE we passed and walked away.

Mohamed the Savior

We went back to Gino’s hotel, where we met Mohamed. He sold us the tickets for 180 LE each (10 LE handling fee I guess). He also arranged our train tickets back to Cairo for the same day. Which was convenient considering the trouble we had in Cairo to buy them before. Finally settled for our trip to Abu Simbel, we looked for food and settled for a place literally on the river. Prices were not that cheap but the food was food and they served beer (rather exceptional). We parted ways with Gino again after dinner. Since we had no plans for the next day yet, I ended up texting Mohamed through WhatsApp to arrange a ride to Philae for the next morning. He agreed for 9 am and Gino told us he would join in. Satisfied we went to sleep.

Aswan Day 2: The Deranged Lego Project

• Sights:       Philae Temple, Nubian Museum, Elephantine Island
• Lodging:   Orchida St George
• Budget:    £ 789

Philae Temple

After a disappointing breakfast (I guess we got spoiled), we were picked up by Mohamed himself with Gino already in the car. On our way to the lower lake he told us not to pay more than 50 each for the boat that would take us to the island. We managed to do so together with another older Argentinian lone traveler. He was grateful for our tip, since he was asked 250 before we came along. Philae Temple is amazing, not only is the temple well-preserved/restored but it is full of fascinating ancient graffiti from over the years. Making your mark on ancient monuments is apparently not something new. Explorers (including Napoleon and several other Generals) had marked their names and date of visit on the ancient walls of the temple, going back to the 1800s.

The rising waters of the Nile after the construction of the lower dam threatened to make it disappear below the surface forever

But the most amazing fact is that the Philae Temple once stood on Philae Island (makes sense right). However the rising waters of the Nile after the construction of the lower dam threatened to make it disappear below the surface forever. Like a giant Lego project the building was deconstructed piece by piece and reconstructed on the nearby Agilikia Island. The island was even shaped like the previous site to accommodate the newly constructed temple.

 

The Nubian Heritage Project

After our visit, we asked Mohamed to drop us off at the Nubian Museum on our way back. That was really worth the visit since it was the best museum we had done so far!It had a clear storyline and great artefacts to tell the story of the Nubian part of Egypt and below. How they interacted with the Egyptian Empire and most interestingly about the Nubian Heritage Project. This project, organized by UNESCO, saved 16 important sites from the Rising waters of Lake Nasser. All were reconstructed elsewhere with the exception of three, which were donated to the countries that funded the rescue. Unfortunately no pictures are allowed in the museum.

Ripped off again…

Slightly pissed off at myself for thinking the Nubians would be better people

We walked back out into the heat to the shore of the Nile and enjoyed some KFC in the air conditioning with an amazing view. Afterwards we caught a boat to Elephantine Island to visit the Nubian settlement. There the mayor of the town (or so he claimed to be) found us wandering around. He led us into his home which functioned as a shop and scam home-base. Daisy got shitty henna after a long haggle over the price and out of spite we did not buy anything.

When we left we found out the tea (the most pricey of our trip so far) still had to be paid. Something we had naïvely taken as a token of hospitality. Slightly pissed off at myself for thinking the Nubians would be better people, we went to the little museum next door. We visited the ruins of the Roman Town once on the island.

… but not again

The most impressive was the view over the Nile form the top of the ruins. I decided to let the security guard give his shitty tour only to deny him any tip afterwards. He repeatedly tried to tell me I could not take pictures. Only so he could charge for them afterwards. I politely informed I had seen no sign informing me of that, and since I had paid entry I had the right to take pictures. We caught the boat back to the East bank.

It was a boat used by the locals as well so we watched closely as they gave 1 pound to the guy collecting the fares. He had to audacity to claim it was 10 pounds each. Guess it was just one of those days. This time I did not even say anything but just laughed and walked on, ignoring his comments in Arabic. We sent back to the hotel to rest and ended up having dinner at McDonald’s for lack of better sufficiently hygienic alternative in the neighbourhood. We went to sleep way too late and prepared everything for our venture to Abu Simbel the next day.

Aswan Day 3: Abu Simbel

• Sights:       Abu Simbel
• Lodging:   The Train
• Budget:    £ 944

To Convoy or not to Convoy

Getting up at 3 AM was a bitch, as expected. Our complimentary breakfast box wasn’t fantastic either, but hey, it was free food. We climbed into the minibus and after picking up other tourists from different hotels (including Gino) for about 30 min our bus was full. Apparently the truth was as dubious as the information we found online. The makeshift convoy gathered on the main road and two police/military cars left at high-speed to clear the road ahead. So technically there is still a convoy although they do not have to drive in one.

We left Aswan for a long ride along lake Nasser. Four hours of staring at the sunset later we arrived at the site where they had reconstructed the temples to save them from the rising waters of the lake. Abu Simbel was just like Philae Temple part of the Nubian Heritage project. Only this site was rebuilt on the same spot but 60m higher. A detailed model can be found in the Nubian museum.

The Vanity of Ramses II

The place was at least as beautiful and impressive as expected. We explored it for 2 hours, most of it spent starting at the war relief of Ramses II battle of Kadesh. We obviously helped each other take pictures inside alerting the others when the patrolling guards came along. The vanity of this Ramses II was as deeply rooted as his treasure chest and his love for his wife Nefertari, who got a smaller temple next to his. It was a long walk back to the bus through the souvenir shops and an even longer ride back to Aswan.

When we arrived back at the hotel, we picked up our stuff from the and tried to last-minute download some entertainment for our 14 hours train ride. We failed miserably so we eventually gave up and got to the station. We bought a pizza for lunch and got some koshari to go for dinner on the train. Next we started our long journey back up to Cairo. Drifting in and out of sleep and getting pulled from comfort and back by the volatile air conditioning, while being a total zombie.