To Aswan and up the Nile
I am writing this after we have moved on from Egypt to Spain, as we didn’t have much internet access during our journey up the Nile or back in Cairo with friends.
We flew to Aswan, where we were immediately ferried to Philae Temple, on a small island where it had been relocated, piece by piece, after the installation of a gigantic dam on the Nile in the late 60’s. It was spectacular to encounter, with so many dramatic carvings and hieroglyphs from the Ptolemaic period. From there, we settled in for a night in a Nubian village on the river, where we explored the colorful painted homes and had some delicious food.
We decided to splurge on a side trip further south the next day to Abu Simbel, an incredible complex built by the egomaniacal Ramses II for himself and his favorite of scores of wives, Nefertari. She’s the only Queen to have a temple built to her, though we later learned about the standout reign of a female King, Hatshepsut.
We then boarded our Nile cruise boat, where we moved North through Edfu, through the Esna lock system, and on to Luxor. The kids loved the novelty of staying on a boat, and Willa in particular demonstrated enormous enthusiasm, appetite, and gusto in regards to the ample buffet meals.
