Tomorrow we catch a flight back to Freebird. We will have been away for 9 days. We spent 4 days touring the many temples and historical sites along the Nile aboard our little cruise ship. We also partied a little with new acquaintances and our friends from "Silver Furn"




It's still HOT. We both agree that this is the hottest place we have ever been. Our last night in Ashlen was in a 5 star hotel that was almost empty. We did a little exploring and spent several hours in the fantastic Nubian museum.

After lunch on a tilting barge turned into resturaunt we flagged down a Faluka sailboat for a ride.


The four of us "sailors" had a ball with the two crew talking "sailing" and we raced all the other boats around Elephantine island. (we won of course) It was fun to watch these sailors work their boat on the river playing the currents and fickel winds. They were true masters of the river and their craft.


We are now sitting in a small "hotel" in the village of Abu Simble. We were picked up by a van and joined a "convoy" for the three hour journey from Ashlon. The government requires a armed guarded convoy for tourist to travel this route. There hasn't been any terrorist attacks in the last few years but the tourist industry can't afford any dead visitors. The three vehicle parade consisted of a big tour bus, our van with the four of us and a armed vehicle bringing up the rear. We also had an armed guard on board complete with fully automatic weapon. After showing us how his gun worked he promptly crawled in the back and fell asleep. After 3 hours of counting electrical towers we pulled into our new home for the next two nights. The small boutique hotel is built in the same way as the Nubian people have been building their homes for the last five thousand years. The buildings are a collection of arches and domes completely made from mud brick similar to adobe in the Southwestern United States.


We were welcomed by Fikry Kachif, the owner. He built the place himself over a period of 8 years. He is also a well known "ood" (Nubian guitar) player. It's a pleasure to sit in the cool breezy interior listening to the soothing exotic sounds of the local Nubian music. Last night we dined by candlelight under the stars of the Egyptian dessert......the soft warm air permeated with the smells of delicious food. An early rise at 0500 had us walking toward the temple of Abu Simbel where we enjoyed watching the first rays of sun strike the faces of the monolithic Pharos. Words can't describe this specter. I don't think photos can tell the story either......