Aswan was going to be a new start, a new opportunity. We began early in the morning at The Temple of Horus. Very small and compact, but still delightful. It had an impressive central plaza and had a covered building full of carvings and columns that almost allowed you to open the door to the colors of the past. I kept wondering around one or two times so I wouldn’t miss any detail. The walls, the roof, everything was a maze, it was surreal.
The next stop was the Temple of Kon Ombo. Standing completely under the sun, but surrounded by the Nile River. A wonderful place to visit as the breeze kept us good company through wonderful corridors that whispered the full version of the ancestral history. The three passages in his interior invited us to live and recreate past in its full magic. Completely amazing ruins surround the magnificent structure. Don’t miss it!
The last stop of the day was the Temple of Philae. In order to visit, we arrived at the port to get a ticket for a boat that was going to drop us off and wait to bring us back. The system was not very organized, but it worked. Although we were not suppose to pay more than 200 EGP, tourists will get charged about 250 EGP. We agreed on the tourist price because bargaining was just time consuming hassle.
The boat went really slow and smooth, it didn’t rock at all. On our way there, the sailer told us the story of how the temple of Philae was not built at this location. He indicated that when the new dam was considered, the Temple of Philae and the Temples of Abu Simbel had to be relocated. Apparently, the areas in which they stood were going to be flooded after construction.
He also pointed out the ruins of a temple that we could see close in the horizon. He said thatit had been open for tourists in the past until a wooden bridge that lead to it broke. It was never fixed, so it had been closed since then.
We were arriving after 10 minutes. Our sailor parked and we started our journey. We didn’t pay him then. We waited until we were back on land.
What can I say about the temple? If you see the picture, you will understand. There is not much words can say. No description that can be fair. It was magnificent inside and out. Standing in middle of the Nile River and shadowed by the ruins of adjacent temples that surrounded it. That’s all that matters. That’s all I will remember.
I had always heard good thing about the Nubian Village and the Nubian Market. Apparently, it is where they have gracious houses full of colors that are packed with exotic decorations. Curious about what I could find, I made this the final stop of the day.
Unfortunately, it was just a fairy tale. We found very few gorgeous houses that apparently were made to attract tourists. We just explored one and went running out! All we found were souvenirs and what seemed to be an illegal depressing zoo. They had crocodiles and snakes that you could hold to take a picture with. It made me so sad! I had to get out of the place.
In reality the Nubian Village is just a pedestrian market with inflated tourist pricing. Not very big at all. For the sake of an argument I did ask for the price of a simple necklace. Yes, they said its price was 950 EGP (about 58 USD). I knew the price of the item was no more than 10 USD. I laughed at the sellet and told him I knew that was no more than 10 USD. He started going down in price by the hundreds until he got to 100 USD by himself. I wasn’t negotiating. I didn’t say a word. I just started leaving and he got to his final number on his own. So he wanted 100 EGP after charging me 950 EGP? I didn’t come back to accept the deal. It was just a matter of principle.
The next was a lesson learned. Turned out that a little girl (no more than 4 years old) started grabbing my hand pushing me to go to her family business. As I was very entertained looking at the souvenirs, she stopped insisting. Or at least that is what I thought. But surprise! Last thing I know is that I look at her and she was trying to undo my watch. Yes, I guess she was figuring out how to steal it. At such young age! Very disappointing. Indeed, an eye opener!
Be careful!
Wookitu 