We must be gluttons for punishment because day 2 started much like our first day of travel: 3 AM wake-up time in order to make the flight scheduled for 5 AM. We made the short flight to Aswan without issues but there was no tour guide to meet us. Luckily, we knew what the tour company logo looked like so we simply walked out to the parking lot and found the van. We met an Australian couple at the airport that we later ran into later that day at our first temple tour.
The bulk of the tour was a cruise down the Nile where it would stop at various points along the way to allow us to see the Egyptian temples. We arrived so early that the previous passengers were still checking out. This gave us time to hang out and enjoy the sun and the view of the river.
The kids were SO excited to go swimming on the boat.
But the water in the pool was very cold. As soon as you stepped in it "made your feet numb, your legs ache, and feel like your legs were on fire" (Hazel and Charlotte).
So there was a lot of looking at the water
and a little bit of playing in the water.
Our first stop was actually in Aswan: the granite stone quarry. This was the source of most of their granite statues. They would harvest the stone here and transport the stone up the river the Cairo or other faraway locations.
Here is an obelisk that was not fully finished because it was cracked. According to the tour guide, they would dig a series of holes in a row, fill them with lotus stems, and then fill them with water. As they expanded the stress would allow the rock to crack between the holes and thus remove a section of the rock. Zachary remembers this part of the tour was very warm outside.
Each obelisk was not carved until it was in place at its destination so if it was chipped in route the smooth finished surface was not ruined.
A quick drive through the desert --
and we arrived at the high dam. The Nile has 2 large dams which divide the river into 3sections This is the southern-most dam and the largest one. As you head south towards Sudan there are many crocodiles. But to the north of this point, the water is croc-free
Zachary and I took time to stop and smell the roses.
A view towards the south.
Charlotte and Hazel slept through this part of the trip
The next stop required a quick boat ride out to a small island where the Temple of Philae is located.
This area was originally dry, but when they built the High Dam, it flooded the area and covered the temple. The Egyptian Government asked for help in preserving this site but they were too late and the island and temple were soon lost.
In order to recover the temple, they dropped walls down into the water to surround the submerged island then pumped out the water. Once it was relatively dry, they cut each section of the temple in the pieces and lifted them to safety, and allowed them to dry.
They then excavated and shaped this island to match the original island and once the pieces of the temple were dry, they placed them back 1 block at a time!
If you look closely at the columns, you will see how they cut them into pieces and then stacked them back on top of one another
The man in the bottom right corner is Mr. Abdula, our tour guide.
Camille fell asleep pretty soon after arrival
We had a few minutes to explore so we let the kids take some pictures of the walls and look around. This view shows 2 smaller structures that were built by Pharaohs after the temple was completed as a sort of visitors center where there were places to sit and relax prior to visiting the temple
Having fun with the kids taking pictures
And she awakes!
Charlotte found this rock here - no idea what it represents. Honestly, it seems kind of out of place as I never saw anything else that looked like it anywhere else.
On each side of the temple, you see this large depiction of the Pharaoh holding a large club in one hand, poised to strike. In his other hand, he is holding the hair of a group of non-believers in order to smite them. He is doing this in front of the Goddess Isis.
We had a lovely ride back to the bus and enjoyed a beautiful sunset
The next stop was another tourist trap but was interesting all the same. This region was famous for its production of natural perfumes. They of course wanted us to buy a bunch which we did not do.
I will say that the lotus flower was a fantastic scent
That night, after a late dinner and putting the 2 youngest down to sleep, Charlotte, Hazel, and I went upstairs to enjoy some live entertainment of Nubian dancers. The best part of the performance was then they came back as a horse which came around the room kissing everyone.
It was a bit embarrassing for Charlotte but it was lots of fun
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