Aswan, Egypt - The Unfinished Obelisk and the High Dam
(text by Chris J., Kim G. and Chris M.)
Our rep arrived in the morning and we ended up simply walking to the boat, since it was quite close. We hadn't seen it the day before because the boats moor tied next to each other (side by side), sometimes 5-7 deep. It was on the far side of a group of moored boats. The driver took our luggage as we walked. The boat, the "Crown Empress", was very nice compared to the 3 star hotels we had been staying in. The boat was indeed 5-stars! The cabins were spacious with sliding glass doors opening to the ocean.
We were met by our female guide, who spoke the best English to date and we headed off to our first stop, the unfinished obelisk. A 40' piece of granite that had been 70% cut away before it cracked. The Egyptians just left it where it was, as there was plenty of other granite about. It was interesting to hear and see evidence of the techniques used to carve out the granite. It involved chiseling out the outline of the obelisk and then digging holes at strategic points, filling the holes with wood, and starting fires to expand the surrounding rock. They were then filled with water to help push the granite up and away.
The conjecture about this obelisk was it was being cut for Queen Hatshepsut, who was almost as famous as Ramses II. She ruled Egypt for about 22 years (her first husband died and her second husband was weak, so she took over). She was unique in that she ruled just like a Pharaoh. Often she is portrayed as a man in her statues. She built some of the largest temples in Egypt, such as the one in Luxor. She wanted to have the largest Obelisk ever and this one would have been it if completed. Interesting note - her second husband (who was also her nephew) hated her so much for taking over that he defaced all of her carvings out of spite after she died .
Next stop was the High Dam, which was not all that impressive. The visit lasted a whole 15 minutes. Only interesting note is that the lake created by the dam, Lake Nasser is the largest man-made lake in the world. The Russians help Egypt complete the dam and there's a monument just outside the dam thanking them. Apparently the USA offered help, but during the Mideast crisis, we withheld the funds and engineering work, so the Russians stepped in.
Last stop was the temple at Philae, this time during daylight. Our guide purchased the tickets. Our boat driver could not have been more than 11 years old.
We headed back into town and we asked the guide about getting cheap beer (our previous Stella beer purchased in a bar was selling for around 25 pounds ($5) each). She mentioned a duty free shop which we passed on the way to our ship. As a guide she was unique in that she told how much to tip everyone, which had been a guessing game with us previously. As an example wages versus product prices, we meet a school teacher who makes 220 pounds ($45) a month and we end up paying 30 pounds ($5) for a can of Pringles in Luxor... some crazy economics! Kim, Chris and I headed out to the store, which is about a 15 minute walk, but when we finally found the store it's closed and doesn't open until 7 pm, so we had a long walk back to the boat. We rested for a bit and Kim decided to stay at the ship as Chris and I departed on our second attempted beer run. Now to find a cheap horse drawn carriage... the first guy doesn't speak English well, so we keep walking, next guy speaks English well, so we begin the bargaining dance. We had heard 5 pounds ($1) per hour during the day for carriage rides (which we knew was impossible to get at night) so we wanted to do the round trip for 10 Egyptian pounds ($2). After 10 minutes of haggling, the driver agrees to the 10 pounds and takes us to the duty free shop.
It was the oddest duty free store I've ever seen. The first floor had a hodge podge of items (vacuum cleaners, toasters, etc, all looked used), so we headed upstairs which has a small glass front cooler with beer. The price was 7.50 pounds ($1.50), so a great deal compared to 20 pounds ($5). We each buy some beer and head back to the boat. When we arrive the driver gives me the "need more money speech", I had already planned to give him 15 pounds ($3), since he was very efficient, but once I hand him the money he tries a slight of hand trick and pulls out a 50 pence bill (1/2 a pound) and says that's all I gave him. I just laughed and told him to be a tad bit quicker next time!
In the evening the boat sailed on to Kom Ombo.
Tomorrow is the Galabeyya party where passengers dress in Egyptian garb. There is a store on board selling costumes and Kim and I pick out a set for 190 pounds (less than $20).
(text by Chris J., Kim G. and Chris M.)
Our rep arrived in the morning and we ended up simply walking to the boat, since it was quite close. We hadn't seen it the day before because the boats moor tied next to each other (side by side), sometimes 5-7 deep. It was on the far side of a group of moored boats. The driver took our luggage as we walked. The boat, the "Crown Empress", was very nice compared to the 3 star hotels we had been staying in. The boat was indeed 5-stars! The cabins were spacious with sliding glass doors opening to the ocean.
We were met by our female guide, who spoke the best English to date and we headed off to our first stop, the unfinished obelisk. A 40' piece of granite that had been 70% cut away before it cracked. The Egyptians just left it where it was, as there was plenty of other granite about. It was interesting to hear and see evidence of the techniques used to carve out the granite. It involved chiseling out the outline of the obelisk and then digging holes at strategic points, filling the holes with wood, and starting fires to expand the surrounding rock. They were then filled with water to help push the granite up and away.
The conjecture about this obelisk was it was being cut for Queen Hatshepsut, who was almost as famous as Ramses II. She ruled Egypt for about 22 years (her first husband died and her second husband was weak, so she took over). She was unique in that she ruled just like a Pharaoh. Often she is portrayed as a man in her statues. She built some of the largest temples in Egypt, such as the one in Luxor. She wanted to have the largest Obelisk ever and this one would have been it if completed. Interesting note - her second husband (who was also her nephew) hated her so much for taking over that he defaced all of her carvings out of spite after she died .
Next stop was the High Dam, which was not all that impressive. The visit lasted a whole 15 minutes. Only interesting note is that the lake created by the dam, Lake Nasser is the largest man-made lake in the world. The Russians help Egypt complete the dam and there's a monument just outside the dam thanking them. Apparently the USA offered help, but during the Mideast crisis, we withheld the funds and engineering work, so the Russians stepped in.
Last stop was the temple at Philae, this time during daylight. Our guide purchased the tickets. Our boat driver could not have been more than 11 years old.
We headed back into town and we asked the guide about getting cheap beer (our previous Stella beer purchased in a bar was selling for around 25 pounds ($5) each). She mentioned a duty free shop which we passed on the way to our ship. As a guide she was unique in that she told how much to tip everyone, which had been a guessing game with us previously. As an example wages versus product prices, we meet a school teacher who makes 220 pounds ($45) a month and we end up paying 30 pounds ($5) for a can of Pringles in Luxor... some crazy economics! Kim, Chris and I headed out to the store, which is about a 15 minute walk, but when we finally found the store it's closed and doesn't open until 7 pm, so we had a long walk back to the boat. We rested for a bit and Kim decided to stay at the ship as Chris and I departed on our second attempted beer run. Now to find a cheap horse drawn carriage... the first guy doesn't speak English well, so we keep walking, next guy speaks English well, so we begin the bargaining dance. We had heard 5 pounds ($1) per hour during the day for carriage rides (which we knew was impossible to get at night) so we wanted to do the round trip for 10 Egyptian pounds ($2). After 10 minutes of haggling, the driver agrees to the 10 pounds and takes us to the duty free shop.
It was the oddest duty free store I've ever seen. The first floor had a hodge podge of items (vacuum cleaners, toasters, etc, all looked used), so we headed upstairs which has a small glass front cooler with beer. The price was 7.50 pounds ($1.50), so a great deal compared to 20 pounds ($5). We each buy some beer and head back to the boat. When we arrive the driver gives me the "need more money speech", I had already planned to give him 15 pounds ($3), since he was very efficient, but once I hand him the money he tries a slight of hand trick and pulls out a 50 pence bill (1/2 a pound) and says that's all I gave him. I just laughed and told him to be a tad bit quicker next time!
In the evening the boat sailed on to Kom Ombo.
Tomorrow is the Galabeyya party where passengers dress in Egyptian garb. There is a store on board selling costumes and Kim and I pick out a set for 190 pounds (less than $20).
posted by Chris at 11:00 PM
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