The guest house owner, Kafana, helped us organize today’s activities. He personally walked us to the east end of the island to show us where to catch the local ferry in Koti town. We were surprised to learn that women and men were required to sit on separate ends of the boat, but the crossing only took a few minutes.
Koti harbor
Separation of the sexes
Our cab driver took us first to the High Dam, a mega project that, in the 1960s, with the aid of the Soviet Union, created Lake Nasser, the largest man-made lake in the world, spanning an amazing 500 kilometers within Egypt and Sudan. I could not get interesting enough pictures to post here, due to the high morning brightness, but also because I accidentally had the camera on the wrong setting and all the photos are simply washed out. The creation of the lake submerged many monuments and entire villages, however, the government managed to save, relocating it stone by stone and piece by piece, the whole of the impressive Philae Temple, to higher ground. It is incredible that a feat of this magnitude could be achieved. We visited Philae Temple at midday, and required a boat to get there.
Our boat awaits
On the way to Philae
Philae Temple only dates to a couple of centuries before the birth of Christ. It was constructed under the Greeks (Alexander the Great), and later completed by the Romans, all in accordance with the principles and beliefs of the ancient Egyptians before religion. When the first Christians revisited the sight, centuries later, lamentably they chiseled out all the faces of the gods that were depicted on the engravings and the bas-reliefs. They did this to most of the monuments in the area, but they did not succeed in lessening their majesty.
Approaching Philae Temple
View from one of the temple's windows
Philae cats
Subsequently we visited the African museum, celebrating and highlighting each country within the continent, with particular attention to the 11 countries of the Nile basin.
The African Museum building
Fish of the Nile
We had a very late lunch at Chef Khalil seafood restaurant, which was recommended by two young German ladies that were staying at our guesthouse. The calamari and fried mixed seafood were very good. We walked off some of the calories over the next couple of hours, strolling through town, especially its enormous Souk (bazaar).
Butcher shop
Shortly before sunset we caught our ferry back, landing at the town of Koti, one of the two Nubian villages, and strolled back to the Kafana guesthouse, but not before stopping at the local spice store where we bought some wonderful Mango tea to bring back home.
View of Koti from Aswan
Streets of Koti
At the spice shop
If you check out some of the numerous reviews about our abode on Booking.com, you will find only comments of high praise. It is indeed an idyllic place, and the staff will truly make you feel at home. Sitting on the veranda right on the river, transports you to another time and era. You could chill here forever and easily forget all your troubles.
Well, we have another early wake-up call tomorrow as we’ll be taking quite a long day trip practically to the Sudanese border. Until mañana, my friends, and thanks for tagging along with us.
Interesting sailboats.