Egypt: Day 4
September 19, 2022
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After a stellar breakfast at the Tolip Hotel, the group toured around Aswan, starting at the Unfinished Obelisk at the Aswan Quarry. The Obelisk cracked, so it was abandoned,
but it was 1/3 larger than any Egyptian Obelisk that was completed. It was ordered by the very busy Queen Hatshepsut (1508–1458 BC).
Then it was on to the Aswan Dam, which is actually two dams ... the Aswan Low Dam, built 1899-1902 and raised twice after because it was not high enough to hold all the water that was
required to prevent flooding downstream ... and the Aswan High Dam, built 1960-1970, which created Lake Nasser, the world's largest man made lake, approximately 500 km in length.
Then it was off to visit the Philae Temple, a complex built primarily by the Greek rulers of Egypt from around 300 BC to 100 BC, mainly Ptolemy II, Ptolemy V and Ptolemy VI,
Originally located on Philae Island, it was flooded by the Aswan Low Dam, with pieces of the temple sticking out of the water.
The Philae Temple complex was cut into 42,000 pieces, numbered and moved to nearby Agilkia Island, where it stands today, high and dry.
After that, we motored to the cruise ship where we would spend three days and nights floating down the Nile River towards Luxor. Before leaving that night, Ahmed took those of us
who wished to go to the Aswan Market before we left Aswan that night.
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Above: Sunrise along the Nile River in Aswan, seen from my Tolip Hotel room balcony.
1 to 3 show sunrise along the Nile River standing on my hotel room balcony.
4 shows one of our best breakfasts, at the hotel ... fresh orange juice, nice omelette and quite decent hot chocolate.
5 and 6 show our drive through Aswan ... a horse wandering on its own, and the Nile River.
7 shows the sprawling Aswan Cemetery.
8 and 9 are more pictures of methods of transporation by local residents ... three on a motorcycle, helmets, we don't need no stinking helmets.
10 and 11 show a map of cities, towns and villages in Egypt, and a map of the Aswan area, with Philae Temple between the Low and High Dams.
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