Aswan

📌 We caught the overnight train to Aswan from Cairo, 12 hours in an old slow train that was fun and surprisingly comfortable. We did some trivia in the social carriage, basically just a smokers room which wasn't good for the lungs. The morning sunrise was gorgeous as we followed the Nile winding through the dessert, slowing watching local life starting up.

📌 We hung out on our own on day 1 and enjoyed a coffee on the river, watching the fellucas sail by. We then decided to suss out the quarry, where a lot of the pyramid blocks and obelisks were quarried. They actually found an unfinished obelisk here which would have been the largest of all, however the mining was abandoned due to fissures in the obelisk and thus wouldn't have been a complete single stone. It was incredible to see the remnants of the mining techniques and how they would have transported these huge blocks. We ended the day with a short Nile River cruise to a Nubian house for dinner. The Nubians were indigenous to northern Sudan and south Egypt and speak their own language.

📌 Day 2 we woke up early as we had a long day ahead, we were headed to Abu Simbel, the sunrise over the Sahara was beautiful as we drove along the dusty roads. Walking into and around the temples was incredible, the sheer size and detail of the preserved hieroglyphics was mesmerising to look at. It was definitely a must do for visiting Egypt. We enjoyed the drive back as the true vastness and dryness of the Sahara was evident in the hot midday. It was also fascinating to see and hear how irrigation from the Nile was being undertaken, with Ethiopia and Egypts supply dictated by dams further upstresm and also the drip irrigation of crops, turning the dessert green. We finished the day with some good Nubian food, a camel tagine for me, and then a few drinks at the hotel.

📌 Our final day in Aswan was a short 2 hour felluca sail boat ride along the Nile which was quite peaceful and warm in the morning sun. The drivers were hilarious and everyone had a go at driving the boat which goes in a zig zag pattern with the wind. We then headed to the Kom Ombo Temple, the temple dedicated to the crocodile God, it was a nice stop off as we were the only ones there basically. The hieroglyphics again were fabulous and included some script on how to mummify bodies.Read more