Middle East - Anthony Ham [133]
Trains running between Luxor and Aswan stop here (Click here and Click here), but the station is on the opposite side of the Nile, making this visit complicated. It’s much easier to take a day tour or travel in a private taxi (from E£120 return) in the 7am daily convoy from Luxor.
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UNLIKELY SOUVENIRS
The sights of Egypt have been attracting visitors for hundreds of years. In the 19th century, a perfectly common memento of a trip to Egypt was a mummy, either whole or in pieces. Hands and heads were particularly popular, as they packed well into one’s luggage!
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Edfu
The Temple of Horus (adult/student E£40/20; 6am-4pm Oct-May, 6am-5pm Jun-Sep) is the star attraction here, 53km south of Esna, as the most completely preserved Ptolemaic temple in Egypt. It was one of the last great Egyptian attempts at monument building on a grand scale (it took about 200 years to complete) and was dedicated to the falcon-headed son of Osiris. Walking through this awesome temple’s halls, many filled with detailed inscriptions of temple rituals and priesthood rites, is both mesmerising and eerie.
Trains running between Luxor and Aswan stop here (Click here and Click here); though the station is approximately 4km from the temple. Pick-ups travel between the station and town for E£8 (for the whole truck). Again, it’s easier to take a day tour or travel in a private taxi (E£150 to E£200 return) in the 7am daily convoy from Luxor.
Kom Ombo
The temple of Temple of Sobek & Haroeris (adult/student E£25/15; 6am-4pm Oct-May, 6am-5pm Jun-Sep), spectacularly crowning an outcrop at a bend in the Nile, is unique for its dual dedication to the crocodile and falcon gods Sobek and Haroeris. The symmetrical main temple dates from the Ptolemaic times, and among the halls and shrines inside you can view the remains of mummified crocodiles, which were once plentiful here as they basked on the Nile’s shores.
The easiest way to visit Kom Ombo is to take a day tour or travel by private taxi in the morning convoys between Luxor and Aswan. A return taxi from Luxor to Edfu and Kom Ombo costs E£250 to E£300. If you’re travelling from Luxor by train (Click here), you can stop here and catch a pick-up from the station to the town (50pt), and then another (25pt to 40pt) from the town to the boat landing near the temple (4km). A taxi from town to the temple is around E£10. If you’re coming from Aswan you can also catch the train (Click here) or bus (Click here).
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ASWAN
097 / pop 1.2 million
With a pace of life as slow as the meandering Nile in this part of Egypt, picturesque Aswan will have you reaching for your point-and-shoot every few minutes. Just north of the first cataract and the southernmost boundary of ancient Egypt’s empire, contemporary Aswan is a sleepy Nile-side town fringed by palms and sandy expanses and the river is dotted with flocks of graceful feluccas. Outside the summer months, when daily temperatures soar to 50°C, Aswan is an ideal place to sail the Nile the ancient way, or to base yourself as you explore the fantastic ruins of nearby Abu Simbel.
Orientation
The train station is at the northern end of town, with bus station a few kilometres further north. The lively souq (Sharia as-Souq) runs south from the square in front of the train station, parallel to the Corniche, which is home to banks, restaurants, shops and most of the public utilities. The southern end of the Corniche is where you’ll find the Nubia Museum and a few of the city’s better hotels.
Information
Internet Access
Aswan Internet Café (Map; 231 4472; Corniche el-Nil; per hr E£10; 9am-midnight) In the oddly shaped El-Tagdiffe (Rowing) Club building on the Corniche.
Aswanet (Map; 231 7332; Keylany Hotel; per hr E£10; 9am-11pm)
Net Café (Map; per hr E£10) Air-conditioned, with fast, flat-screen PCs; located next to Nuba Nile Hotel.
Money
The main banks all have branches (with ATMs) on the Corniche. Banque Misr (Map) has a foreign-exchange booth ( 8am-3pm & 5-8pm) in its main building and there’s an Egypt Exchange