Aswan to Cairo 30 January. Clear skies, sunny about mid 20s
Up early (5.45) for breakfast and check out. Not so achey around the sinus but have developed a chesty cough, otherwise feel ok.
After check out we head off to our first stop, the quarry where the ancient Egyptians carved the granite blocks and stone for the obelisks. There are the remains of one there which would have been the tallest one ever made, but during the cutting process a crack developed and it had to be abandoned. Obelisks are made from one piece of stone. Our second stop is the Island of Philae. It is a temple on an island dedicated to the goddess Isis. We have a motorboat ride to the island and as at all the sites we have to run the gauntlet of the hawkers.
This is the only temple dedicated to a female god. This temple also had to be moved from its original site because of the damming of the Nile. It was cut into some 14000 pieces, transported and reassembled. The temple has a different feel from the others. Assem claimed that during the reconstruction for a period of three years, the Egyptian workers who had children all had girls. As a consequence they refused to work on the temple and foreign workers had to be recruited, unfortunately no further records of births were kept.
We then move on to a perfume factory where they demonstrate all the different essences they make and we have a chance to smell a number and purchase some. They were able to produce scents from all the well know perfume brands and demonstrated that none of their essence contained alcohol. Their essence names were Egyptian and they also had aromatherapy oils. They provided a small glass of boiling water and put one drop of mint into it and we were able to inhale it - cleared the sinuses really well. I then had a massage with sandalwood and eucalyptus oils, felt really good. Bought some oils to bring home, strangely everything was US$ but then converted to Egyptian money. US$ seems to be the currency they value everything against.
On leaving the essence factory we head to the Aswan new dam for our last stop before heading to the airport for our flight to Cairo. The dam is guarded by Egyptian military and armed guards are very conspicuous. At the entry points there are armoured troop carriers with soldiers on top with machine guns. The dam itself is a massive construction and lake Nasser is vast. Some 40 tonnes of fish per day is taken from the lake.
The airport is close by and we have a 90 minute wait until we depart. We have business class for this flight, but we are all cautious as to what business class is in Egypt.
The plane is a smallish jet two seats either side. Business class is no different in seat comfort but is situated in the front half of the plane and comes with a snack! We also get to board and get off first.
The flight is 75 mins and everything is ready when we arrive in Cairo. The hotel is within walking distance but we still have a bus waiting for us. The hotel is very luxurious with large rooms and very comfortable fittings. It is another early start tomorrow with bags outside by 5.30. We thought it may have been later as we are staying at the airport but it is an 8.55 departure for Israel.
Our farewell dinner to Egypt is at the hotel and the food is fantastic, best food for the whole tour by far. It was a mix of Egyptian and Lebanese food and it just kept coming.
We say farewell to our guide Assem and tomorrow head to Israel. It is good to have internet again. In the next few days I will try to upload some photos.
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