We were up early and began the remainder of Aswan tour around 7:00 a.m. Today our first stop was the new Aswan Dam. This dam was financed by the Russians primarily to helped control the flooding of the Nile down river.
This is a view of Lake Nasser created by the new dam. It is the largest manmade lake in the world.
After this quick stop at the dam, we again loaded a small boat for a daytime tour of the Island of Philae. The temples here are something to behold, and the setting is breathtaking.
Our next stop was the granite quarry and the Unfinished Obelisk. If it had been completed, it would have been the single heaviest piece of stone the Egyptians ever finished. It was abandoned because of a crack in the stone at the late stage in the process. Before returning to our boat, we stopped at the Nubian Museum. We departed from Aswan when we set sail during lunch.
Here is our boat, the Sonesta Dahabiya, stopped at a beach along the Nile. Since we are going against the wind right now, we cannot use our sails and are being towed by a tug boat. Every evening we will stop at one of the island on the Nile. We are sharing our adventure with 10 other guests plus our guide, Mina. Four of the couple are from the UK. Another couple is currently living in Germany, but are US citizens. There are only 8 guest cabins on our vessel, while most Nile cruise boats have at least 70 cabins.
This is a lounge area towards the back of the boat. We also dine on this deck, under a center canopy that can be enclosed when it is windy.
Mina, our tour guide, is only the tour guide for the four of us. He makes all of the arrangements for our land tours and accompanies us along the way.
A few words about Aswan… The air is so clean here, and the water in this part of the Nile is quite clear. We have had perfect temperatures, so it is understandable why so many Europeans come to this part of Egypt during the winter. Sailing this afternoon was surreal. Here we were dining on the Nile. There was a gentle breeze, with palms swaying on the sandy beaches. I can’t believe I’m really here!
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