Middle East - Anthony Ham [137]
MonaLisa Caffee (Map; Corniche el-Nil; meals E£10-18) This Aswan old-timer has recently had the full ‘Bedouin’ makeover, with cosy floor-cushioned sitting spaces, Bedouin tents and a separate intimate terrace looking onto the river. The staff seem ever eager to please, and the tagines are economically priced and darned tasty. You can get Stella here for E£7.50.
El-Tahrir Pizza (Map; Midan al-Mahatta; pizzas E£10-25; 24hr) This corner café, opposite the train station, does a roaring trade in scrumptious Egyptian pizza. Cheekily, prices are inflated on the English version of their menu – if you can convince them that you understand the Arabic menu you’ll pay half as much for pizzas.
Chief Khalil (Map; 231 0142; Sharia as-Souq; meals E£25-50; ) This tiny but busy seafood eatery grills delicious fresh fish from Lake Nasser and the Red Sea over coals and serves it up with salads, and rice or French fries.
For a quick bite, the most popular place in town is the ta’amiyya stand (Map) next to the Aswan Coffee Shop. It’s opposite a public oven and uses freshly baked bread in its sandwiches. For good, cheap fiteer, hit the fiteer stand (Map) on the southern side of Midan al-Mahatta. To scratch a kushari itch, try the kushari store (Map; Sharia as-Souq; koshary E£3-5) with a couple of outdoor tables on Sharia as-Souq, just around the corner from Sharia al-Matar.
Drinking
Nubian House Restaurant ( 232 6226) Easily the most atmospheric tea-and-sheesha spot in town. It also serves meals (left).
Noba Coffee Shop (Map; Sharia Saad Zaghloul) Right in the middle of Aswan’s hot stretch of souq, this is a nifty place to rest and sip a souq-side shai or sheesha (E£5 each).
The cafés (Map) on the busy corner of Midan al-Mahatta and Sharia as-Souq are great places to linger over a honey-drenched baklava and a glass of tea.
If you haven’t yet been accosted along the Corniche and want to meet up with some felucca captains, two popular hangouts are Aswan Moon Restaurant (Map; 231 6108; Corniche el-Nil; mezze E£4-9, mains E£18-30) and Emy (Map; 230 4349; Corniche el-Nil; meals E£8-15). Located on a floating pontoon/houseboat respectively, the cheap food at these places sure ain’t nothin’ to rave about, but they remain popular with tourists and boat captains alike – particularly for the cheap beers (E£7 to E£8) and evening Nile breeze.
Getting There & Away
Air
EgyptAir (Map; 231 5000; Corniche el-Nil; 8am-8pm) offers several daily flights between Aswan and the capital (around E£450 one way, 1¼ hours). The hop to Luxor starts at around E£200 one way (30 minutes) and leaves daily at 9am. Flights to Abu Simbel (E£785 return) depart at 6.30am and 9am.
Boat to Sudan
Click here for details of the weekly ferry to Wadi Halfa.
Bus
The bus station is 3.6km north of the town centre. A taxi to the town centre (including the hotels near the Nubia Museum) will cost around E£10; a seat in one of the regular service taxis is 50pt. Buses leave for Cairo (E£91, 13 hours) at 3.30pm, though the train is a far more comfortable option. There are six daily services to Luxor (E£20, four to five hours) via Kom Ombo (E£5, one hour), Edfu (E£10, two hours) and Esna (E£15, three hours). To Suez (E£60 to E£70, 12 hours), buses leave at 6am and 5pm, travelling via Hurghada (E£45 to E£55, seven hours). Extra services to Hurghada run at 8am and 3.30pm. There is also one 6.30am service to Marsa Alam (E£25, six hours). Note that there is a supposed to be a limit of four foreigners per bus, so it pays to book ahead of time or arrive early.
Convoy
It is compulsory for foreigners with private transport to travel between Luxor and Aswan by convoy, and the nine checkpoints along the way mean that it is unlikely you can skirt the long arm of the law. Two daily convoys leave Aswan from the departure point (Map) in front of Fatimid Cemetery. The 8am convoy travels via Esna, Edfu and Kom Ombo, allowing