go: EgyptNile

The Road Behind

Venezuela
Trinidad
Curacao
Galapagos
Ecuador
Peru
Bolivia
Paraguay
Argentina
Chile
Hong Kong
Thailand North
Thailand South
Malaysia
Cambodia
Singapore
Nepal
Kathmandu
Royal Trek
Nepal Trek
India
India Palace
Udaipur
Bangalore
Greece
Islands
Rhodes
Camping
Olympia
Turkey
Istanbul
Bath
Bursa
Cappadocia
Bodrum
South Africa
Garden Route
Cape Town
Namibia
Fish River
Etosha
Botswana
Zimbabwe
Wedding
Great Ruins
Germany
Bathroom
Netherlands
Spain
Madrid
Seville
Granada
Gibraltar
Morocco
Portugal
Sintra
France
Normandy
Egypt
Pyramids
Nile
Aswan
Abusimbel
Luxor
Valley of Kings
Alexandria
Red Sea
Jordan
Kings Valley
Aman
Palestine

The Road Ahead

Isreal
Czech Republic
Austria
Italy
Switzerland
England
Find pages
Unused pages
Undefined pages
Page Index

Set your name in UserPreferences

Referenced by
LeftMenu

JSPWiki v2.2.33

EgyptNile	Search Wiki:
Your trail: SouthAfricaGardenRoute > Ecuador > SpainSeville > NepalRoyalTrek > JSPWikiTips > EgyptPyramids > GermanyBerlin > SpainGibraltar > Singapore > IndiaDelhi

The next day was great, we made arrangements for a taxi to the camel market about 45 minutes north of Aswan. 7:30 pick up time and on the way to meet our security convoy. About 7 vehicles arrived including 4 armed guards in a military jeep. For the past several years extremist Muslim groups have attacked many targets, including tourist groups. There was a very violent attack in Cairo in 1996 and another in Luxor in 1997. These attacks are trying to be controlled by an increase in government security. It is probably best to dress conservatively, keep a low profile, and avoid traveling in large organized groups.

Our armed convoy was traveling to Daraw, a huge market is held every Tuesday, it is a wonderful experience especially if you are in need of camels, sheep, cows, donkeys or piles of fresh produce. There seemed to be some buying, selling and trading going on but mostly socializing, tea drinking and men dressed in robes sitting in circles chatting or smoking sheesha pipes. We walked around shooting great video and entertaining the camel traders with movies of themselves; they were just like little kids. There were a few hundred camels that had just traveled up from Sudan standing around on 3 legs because the 4th was tied up so that they could not run. It looked cruel but the camels appeared not to be bothered as they, like their owners, sat around in circles chatting and munching on lush green grass. Some others were being loaded into the back of a small Toyota pick up truck. They are so homely they're cute, lots of personality shines through their big lips and eyes.

Just up the road, the center of town was a more crowded market selling smaller livestock, produce, camel and donkey tack etc.. but not a tourist bauble in sight; how refreshing. Scooter and I were literally trailed by a tough looking guard with a machine gun, we felt very safe. We would highly recommend getting out to Daraw on market day, it is so nice just to be ignored by the locals . The hassle of walking around the large towns can quickly reduce your strolling time to only visiting the major sights. Once back in Aswan we had to figure out how to get out of town--we still had not decided on felucca or cruise boat transportation to Luxor. All along the Nile corniche are cruise boat docks. There is a ridiculous number of boatels plying the Nile. We began our research by walking along the shore and stopping into the docked boats to find out the cost and departure dates of each one. On one of our first inquiries we were informed that the boats can only go as far as Esna (about 45 min. by taxi to Luxor) due to the locks and water levels, apparently this happens 2 times per year for two weeks at a time. The prices ranged from 60 US$ to 35 US$ per person per night with everything included. After 6 inquiries we found a boat leaving tonight at 7PM and negotiated them from 50 dollars to 35 dollars per person including stopping at both the Kom Ombo and Edfu temples on the way north. We asked for a discounted rate by saying that we would not need guided tours. Because it was still before noon we hurried back to the Club Med and checked out in time to board our new digs for lunch. I was still not feeling well so the comfort of the cruise boat won out over the adventure of a felucca trip. Had this been the start of our journey, no doubt we would have opted for the felucca but we felt we'd had our share of adventure...and hassle. The 3 felucca trips have a few details to be considered before departing--trustworthy captains, payment terms, fresh food, clean water, destinations and, one more time, payment terms.

Lunch and a rest, that was for me. The cruise boats/flotels very greatly in quality. Some are five star, some are three star you can tell by looking at them. Some boats claim to be five star but are really three star like our boat, S , but that was just fine for us. The room looked like any other hotel room, larger than other cruise ships we had been on with a picture window for the spectacular views. The top deck was best for the views, comfy deck and lounge chairs under a canopy or in the sun with a hot tub and a pool. The weather was beautiful. The deck was the place to be day and night. Most of our fellow passengers were from England on package tours and the boat was only about 1/3 full. Friendly, entertaining passengers had already been on the boat for several days.

Early the next morning we were docked at Kom Ombo temple a lovely ruin perched on the side of the Nile. We hurried to be first off and up to the temple for good video. We climbed around and handed out backsheesh to the professional backsheeshers. Then went back to the boat to secure a table and lounge chair for the day's R and R. The views along the Nile are incredible surreal vistas of deep blue water, rich green crops mixed with the varied colors of the desert cliffs and sands sometimes in the background sometimes all the way to the shore. Even though you are not far from the either shoreline, binoculars are a good idea.

In the afternoon Scooter and I disembarked at the city of Edfu to see a large temple that the other passengers had already seen --we had an hour and a half to get there and back. After a little hassle or hustle with the kalish drivers we were on our way through town to the ruin. Our kalish driver waited while we toured and returned us to the boat with plenty of time to spare. The most suprising thing we noticed as we continued our cruise was the number of other boats coming and going passing each other trading signature horn blowing. The cruise ships are an easy, yet sterile, way to tour the Egyptian Nile--just looking no touching.

Go to top

This page last changed on 27-Apr-2006 23:37:57 EDT by 70.171.24.221.