I had booked the 9 day Nile Adventure Felucca Cruise with Timeless Tours, through Tour Radar and chosen the option of flying into Aswan from Cairo, instead of taking the overnight bus. It was a good option as it allowed me to rest better before the travel around Aswan started.

These are the special six highlights of my travel around Aswan.

(1) Aswan High Dam:

Construction on the High Dam started in 1960 and was completed in 1970, with the reservoir filling to capacity in 1976. With the dam being better able to control flooding, protection from floods, drought and has contributed to an increase in agricultural production and employment as well as electricity production, it has also caused the relocation of thousands of people and flooded ancient sites. Abu Simbel Temple is one such site that was relocated to another site due to the dam.

The Lotus Tower or the Friendship Tower was built in 1971 to mark the contribution of Soviet Union in the building of the dam.

(2) Temple of Philae

The Temple of Philae built in the 4th century BC, was relocated from its original location to the island of Agilkia due to the flooding during the Low Dam construction. Ancient Egyptians believed that this was one of the places where one of Osiris’ parts was buried.

After walking around the temple, I made my way back to the café by the jetty to have some mint tea. Some kittens had taken over the couches and were enjoying their siesta, as I sipped my tea.

(3) Nubian Museum:

Inaugurated in 1997, the museum in Aswan is dedicated to the Nubian culture and civilization. Since we had a couple of hours free in the afternoon and the museum was just opposite our hotel, some of our group members decided to visit the museum. It had a few artefacts and information.

(4) Abu Simbel Temple

The visit to Abu Simbel Temple was one of the special highlights of my travel to Egypt.

The statues at the entrance of the temple for Ramesses II reminded me of Shelley’s poem Ozymandias. Shelley had been inspired to write Ozymandias from the accounts of the statue of Ramesses found in the desert among the sands, head separated from torso and legs.

” ‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

The carvings inside the temple was clear and told the story that Ramesses II wanted successive generations to associate with him.

Next to the temple for Ramesses II, there was the smaller temple built for his Chief Queen, Nefertari. It is supposedly one of the rare instances when the Queen’s statue has been made the same size as that of the Pharaoh.

There is a beautiful carving of Goddess Hathor within Nefertari’s temple and a painting that shows her being blessed and accepted as an equal by the Goddesses Hathor and Isis.

Both temples had been beautifully carved and were full of stories. Due to the building of the Aswan Low Dam, the temples had to be relocated to its current location.

(5) Felucca Overnight Cruise

There had been an option of an overnight felucca cruise or being on a 3 day cruise ship, with Timeless Tours. I chose the overnight felucca cruise option.

Cruising along the Nile in a traditional boat was a beautiful experience. Our group was divided into two groups of ten and given two feluccas. Our felucca basically had a common, open sleeping space with mattresses, which also converted into the dining area during meal times.

The food was quite good and we had flatbread with baba ghanouj and okra curry for lunch, a chorba for dinner and some rice and fried chicken. For breakfast, we were served baladi with ful and boiled eggs, and some cheese and fruit. Overall, within the narrow confines of the boat’s cooking space, the crew turned out hot, tasty meals.

The felucca also had a top deck, where it was lovely to sit and experience the quiet and calm start to a morning on the Nile.

(6) Kom Ombo Temple:

After we disembarked from our felucca, we boarded our bus for the drive to Luxor. We stopped at the Kom Ombo temple for a visit.

Kom Ombo had been dedicated to both brothers, Sobek and Horus, and represents both the dark and light forces that human nature appeals to.

The temple had carvings on its wall depicting the seasonal calendar and the offerings that needed to be given at each stage to ensure a prosperous cultivation. The well within the temple was connected to a Nilometer, which was basically the system that ancient Egyptians used to tax people based on the water level of the Nile River and the corresponding proximity of residence of the people.

Overall, Aswan was a lovely city that I enjoyed, especially for its history.