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Day 6 (Feb 14, 2019)

I am in Aswan. It’s the end of my exploration of the ancient Egyptian civilization. Two sites to see today: The Aswan High Dam and the Temple of Philae.

The Aswan High Dam, constructed in the 1960s, was seen a symbol of Egypt’s independence following the revolution of 1952. The dam is used to control the flooding that Nile caused downstream and to generate electricity.

As we started driving over the dam, I kept comparing what I was seeing with the scene that Kim Stanley Robinson described in his Mars trilogy. The canyons of Mars were flooded with water from the melting of the ice as part of the terraforming efforts. It would have probably looked something like the landscape in front me. Then again, all such dams create similar landscapes.

The dam gives power! The landscape is full of electricity-carrying pylons dissapearing into the desert.

The construction of the dam also meant that there weren’t any crocodiles downstream anymore. Back at the temple of Kom Ombo (see day 5), there were drawings and statues of a crocodile god. He was considered an “evil god” but still worshiped because of his power. Kings would ask for his power when going to war. They also mummified crocodiles there.

After the dam, we visited the Temple of Philae. We had to take a little boat to get there.

This temple was moved by UNESCO in the 1970s because the lake that was created by the high dam submerged it under water while in its original location. They had to cut the entire temple in small pieces and reconstruct it on a small island nearby. Very impressive.

I took the time to  relax in the afternoon and then went out for a long evening walk. The street was full of horse-drawn carriages. The city smelled so bad. Along the way, people offered me rides. I got impatient but didn’t say anything. What did they expect? I could see the carriages. Would their approach and their insistence have initiated some new thought process in my head? “Oh… There are carriages around, I hadn’t noticed. Oh… It hadn’t occurred to me that they were available for hire! Now that you mention it and you insist, I do indeed want to take a ride.” The same for taxis. Argh! I know. I know! They are merely trying to make an honest living, which is why I am always polite with them and smile.

After about 90mins of walking, I came across a market. I dived into it of course!

It was a nice closing to the day and to this part of the trip. Back to my riverboat hotel, docked on the east bank of the Nile, at Aswan.

I conveyed my thanks to the crew and got ready for an early departure!

Day 7 (Feb 15, 2019)

This is a transit day. I am now in Cairo, staying close to the airport for an early flight to Sharm El Sheikh tomorrow, for the second part of my trip. I took the opportunity to catch up with all of my writing and continue my reading. More about the scheduling/organization of the trip in the summary post at the end.

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Next day: Egypt – Days 8, 9