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  • Day 6

    Aswan Afternoon

    January 14, 2019 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    We arrived at Aswan train station this morning and headed to the lovely Isis Hotel, right on the Nile. Our rooms weren't ready yet, so we headed off to explore a bit. Not quite knowing where things were, we were keen to explore. There's a lot of boatmen and vendors calling out for his to hire feluccas as we walked by the water. A few are a bit persistent but most leave you alone when you say no thank you.

    Along the walk, we spotted what looked like a mosque atop a small hill. According to my map, it was the Nubian cataract. There weren't any other visitors there, except for us and an older couple. We were invited to have a look inside the mosque, I was admittedly a little nervous as the doors were all closed and they opened one to let us in. I know I shouldn't feel that way, but it's been a bit ingrained in us. My new friend from the door stepped inside, while I waited by the door just in case. The inside of the mosque though was quiet and beautiful.

    From there, we set off to find the market. The souk is long and lots of vendors vied for attention. No hassle, no charge to look echoed around us. People asked where we were from. The fruits and vegetables market for the locals was calmer as we could simply pass through.

    For lunch, we went to Aswan Moon, a restaurant along the river that I had found on Wikitravel. They didn't have a few options on the menu, but the grilled fish I ended up getting was quite tasty. The manager was from Sudan and we had some interesting conversations. He even wrote our names out in Arabic.

    After lunch, we set off to the Fryal Gardens, a serene section of green by the river. Admission is 10LE. There were families there as well, and you get a nice view of the Nile along with Elephantine Island. We did a fairly quick loop around before setting off to the Unfinished Obelisk.

    The route on the map took us into a poorer part of town where the streets were more sandy than road. Definitely a different side of Aswan that perhaps not too many see. When we got to the Obelisk, nobody was there. It was a bit eerie having this pile of rock all to ourselves and a few watchmen. As you stand high above the quarry, you can see the city beyond, as if behind a veil between ancient times and modern.

    With no other visitors nearby, there were no taxi's to take back to the hotel though we still had enough time to walk back to meet the group at 4pm for our motorboat tour and Nubian dinner. It was still a distance though so we ended up flagging down a tuk tuk. While a fun ride, perhaps not the best idea as the drivers don't appear to speak English even though they were fairly young. We thought we'd agreed on a price, but when they stopped to let us off (after attempting to drive in circles), the amount they wanted was 4 times what we'd agreed to. The driver was quiet, but his friend who'd hopped on to help with directions was the one who wanted more. We were close enough to our hotel at this point, and also stopped in front of a shop, where the shopkeeper came out to see what was going on.

    This is one prime example to always have small bills and be firm. We explained to him the situation. Funny enough, we had discussed leaving a tip above the agreed fare. After a few rounds, the shopkeeper decided to stay out of it. No need to fear though, we were in a safe area, and I held out the original amount plus the little. "Take it or we're leaving". The driver came around at this point, and accepted this. Whew.

    Tonight we visited a Nubian family on Elephantine Island, and had a nice walk around the village. One of the ladies had her birthday so they also had cake.
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