Down to Upper Egypt

When we stepped off the sleeper train in Aswan, even though it was 9 in the morning, we experienced the relentless dry heat of Upper Egypt - reminiscent of Saudi Arabia. (Even though we were in southern Egypt, it is called Upper Egypt because it is actually higher ground than the North.) Summer is off-season for tourists in Egypt, and we could see why. However, there are significant perks to touring in the summer. First, you don't have to share the sites with crowds of people. Often, we were the only people wandering around inside a temple, as if we were the first explorers to come across it. Second, summer rates are far cheaper. We were told that hotels, taxis, and entrance fees all triple during the cooler months for tourist season.

While the Cairo area is famed for its pyramids, it is the South that is home to the ancient Egyptian temples, with their regal columns, towering statues, and walls covered from corner to corner with enigmatic hieroglyphs. History class in school is not fondly remembered by most people, due to boring textbooks that boil down history to a flat, featureless canvas of names and dates. However, almost everyone has positive memories of learning about the ancient Egyptians - the mummy-making process, the huge pyramids, the mysterious symbols of their writing system. Not even the most boring history class can succeed in making the ancient Egyptians just another page in a textbook.

Due to the extreme heat, we took it slow and alternated seeing sites to spare the kids having to be out in the sun. For our first day in Aswan, Josh, Bud, Ashley, and Misha went to the Temple of Philae, while I stayed in the hotel with Sebby. They reported back to me with stories and photos. The heat was almost too much for Misha, so I was glad I didn't attempt it with Sebby.

The Temple of Philae:

Approaching the temple, which is on an island in the Nile, by boat.

The temple's walls are inscribed with the story of Isis over and over. Above, Horus sits by rows of hieroglyphic text.


Misha in the "window" of the temple, surrounded by ancient script.


Misha up close.


Columns surrounding the doorway, overlooking the Nile.

The Coptic Christians later took offense at the multiple gods depicted on the ancient temple, and they actually had the nerve to scratch them out.


The Coptic cross superimposed on hieroglyphs.


Bud and Ashley at Philae.


More images and hieroglyphs.


A corridor of columns. One of the guys from our small tour sweetly carried Misha through the temple.

Botanical and Elephantine Islands:

The next day, Josh stayed in the hotel with both kids and the AC while Bud, Ashley, and I hit two more islands in the Nile.


We walked to the Nile from our hotel and boarded a small motor boat, which took us to


Botanical Island, a tropical paradise. It was amazingly green and full of species from different countries. We walked along in the humidity admiring baobab trees, exotic birds, and spices including lemon grass and cinnamon.

Then the boat transported us to Elephantine Island, which features a small museum and ruins from three temples. Though the crumbling, reconstructed walls of Elephantine's temples were not as impressive as Philae, for me they were fantastic. We were the only people there, traipsing through broken walls and statues missing all but their feet, the sun beating down oppressively. (Thank goodness for our water bottles, sun hats, and sunglasses.) It felt like we were in an Indiana Jones movie, or perhaps in the computer game Myst that had come to life and it was our job to discover what civilization had created these structures and symbols and why they imparted them so much significance.


Bud and I stand in a huge, ancient doorway.


Indiana Kula and the Temple of Doom.


More hieroglyphs, including the key of life, known as "ank."


A bit of color remains in this scene.


More hieroglyphs.

That evening, we swapped again and Josh took Misha, Bud and Ashley to the Nubian village tour arranged for us.

On the boat once more.


A quick pause for a dip in the Nile!


A somewhat-traditional-slash-touristy experience of eating a Nubian meal in a Nubian home. The Nubians are an ethnic group originally from Northern Sudan.


The family had some baby alligators, and they offered Misha a stick to demonstrate the speed of a baby alligator's attack! (He was indeed fast.)