This morning some of our group were up at 04:00 for a 2 ½ hour coach journey to Abu Simbel.
This was an optional extra but as we had done Abu Simbel the last time we were
on the cruise we gave it a miss this time. When they returned we were entertained
by their exploits, such as the guide falling asleep for the entire journey and
waking up to tell them about a mirage in the dessert, which they had already
seen.
Instead we arranged for a taxi to take us to the quarry at Aswan to see the unfinished obelisk of Hatshepsut. When the ancient Egyptians were cutting it out of the granite they found cracks in the stone and so they abandoned it. If finished, it would have measured 130 feet in length and its weight is estimated to 1,150 metric tons. In addition to this obelisk, in the quarry there are some rock carvings and unfinished objects, and marks from the workmen's tools are still visible, which gives us a chance to see how the stone masons quarried the granite, using only harder stones of basalt and sheer manpower to manoeuvre these great hunks of rock.
While
the taxi driver waited for us we wandered around the quarry. As we reached the
actual obelisk, we were approached by a "tourist policeman" who offered
to take us around the back of the obelisk and show us things that were not on
show to the public. Here we go again we thought; more baksheesh. He did show
us some interesting things, such as the basalt balls that were used to chip
away at the granite, and the grooves on the obelisk where it had been carved,but
before he let us go he demanded payment.
We gave him a 50EL note but that wasn't enough "I have children" he
said and my friend up there wants paying. He gestured us to keep quiet and crossed
his hands as if in handcuffs so we doubled his payment and made a hasty retreat.
These policemen in white are supposed to protect tourists but this one was intimidating.
On our way out, we had to pass yet more stalls selling cotton goods and novelties.
I tried to look at them without looking too interested but a seller separated
me from Ray and cornered me in his shop. I thought I would like to buy a tee
shirt but he tried to baffle me with the exchange rate. Ray came back to rescue
me but I eventually succumbed to the pressure and bought a tee shirt at above
the going rate just to escape. All in all it was a traumatic visit but we were
glad we had seen the obelisk. We returned to our taxi driver and back to the
boat to recover.
Today some more tourists joined our boat at Aswan to sail back to Luxor. Some of these were Americans and we certainly noticed the extra noise and longer queues at mealtimes. When the rest of our little group returned from Abu Simbel, we were eager to know how they had enjoyed it. They seemed quite impressed by the temple itself but the journey of 2 ½ hours by road wasn't very popular.
Once they were all back on board, the boat started off on its return journey back down the Nile towards Luxor. We settled down for a leisurely lunch and then a peaceful scenic sail.
At round about Tiffin time the boat docked again at Kom Ombo to allow our new passengers to see the temple. We passed the time watching the sellers hassling the tourists.
When they returned we again set sail on towards Edfu, where we again moored for the night. This evening there was another Galabiya night for the newcomers. Our little group, which was now like a little family sat up on deck talking for the evening and when we docked at Edfu, we watched the activities going on in the town.
