ASWAN - Egypts southernmost city

After our trip to Philae island, we swung by Aswan's Northern Granite Quarries. As I hopped out of the van, I dropped the camera which shattered on the ground at my feet! Oh no! I took this photo without even being able to see what I was pointing at!

The Quarry itself looks like something from another planet, similar to the Granite Dells of Prescott, Arizona. But it is the massive Unfinished Obelisk that draws visitors here. Believed to have been commissioned by Queen Hatshepsut, if it had been finished the Obelisk would have stood 42 meters high and weighed 1168 tons!!

Knowing how tough granite is, one could not help but be impressed imagining workers laboring relentlessly with primitive tools to chisel this thing from the ground. Deep channels cut through the earth on both sides as workers made room for their own bodies in order to continue their work. It must have taken years! It would be your career. Can you imagine – standing there everyday chiseling away at this stone, progressing so slowly you'd wonder if you were doing anything at all. Unreal!

Aswan is a cool city, and if I come back to Egypt on my own this is where I plan to make my base. Our hotel, the Isis, is up against the Nile and very close to the suk, or bazaar, so perfectly positioned in my opinion. There's a poolside bar serving Sakara beer and we lounge around, Kathryn in her vintage 1930s bathing suit.

Felucas ply the water, as they have for thousands of years. Holy crap! I just saw a guy drink out of the Nile! Hanging out from his boat, he just drank water that our book has warned not even to bathe in! The bacteria count is so high you can get diseases just from getting it up your a$$! And this guy ingested it! I guess if you're acclimated!

Check out the short video below!



Milad took us out into the suk and showed us some of the shopping area. I found an old man carving brass plates with incredible scenes of Egypt's temples, or famous paintings like Ramses II in his chariot. Amazingly, he was doing it from memory! No pictures, no drawing on the plate, just a tiny hammer and chisel and his mind. And they were remarkably accurate. While we were there, he he was working on a plate of Abu Simbel and I really wanted it, and he said if I came back the next day he would have it finished.

Milad took us to a fast food shop where I got a couple sandwiches of some highly spiced meat. They were delicious, but shortly after eating them, my stomach problems started! Of course, when I ordered some french fries to go with them, the guy simply reached in and grabbed a handful...ugh...

Tomorrow we were off to Abu Simbel and I HAD to have another camera. With little option, I found a small shop selling electronics. After at least 30 minutes of haggling wherein we were given drinks, food, etc., I bought it for roughly $200. I'm sure it was about $150 camera, but this was an emergency!

The next night, Kathryn and I returned to the suk alone, turning the opposite direction than we went with Milad. Again, Milad seemed surprised that we ventured out on our own. While many of the shops sold the same old junk, we saw plenty that stocked interesting and unique items. However once again, the annoying vendors lessened my pleasure. Still, I suppose that's part of the experience. I saw one shop of traditional Nubian masks that I truly wanted to look at, but by then I'd had enough of the hassle.

One guy practically begged us to come into his place and as incentive presented us with a pair of tiny scarabs. At first I refused and explained that the last time someone had handed me something as a gift, he then demanded money for it. And if it happened again, my response would be less than civil. He said, no really, this is a gift. So we kept them. I looked around his shop,and though there were cool statues and such, there was nothing I wanted to keep, so we left him disappointed, but impressed with his integrity.

I find it very strange that they really believe if they offer you something at a low enough rate, you will buy it. They seem not to understand that you may simply not want what they are selling. I did want that hand carved brass plate, but when I went back two days later, the old man had still not finished it. He tried to interest me in the ones he had, but I wanted the Abu Simbel plate, especially after having visited the place. But that is another story...