Middle East - Anthony Ham [139]
Cotton is still grown in Egypt, and this region’s particular variety boasts longer fibres than any other cotton in the world – allowing extremely fine, lustrous and durable yarns to be spun from it. But really, what a high political price to pay for some extra-snug bed sheets.
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Calèche
A calèche trip along the Corniche will cost around E£10.
Ferry
Public ferries shuttle regularly throughout the day from Aswan to Elephantine Island and the West Bank. Fares are E£1 each way.
Taxi
A 3½-hour taxi tour to the Temple of Philae, High Dam and Unfinished Obelisk costs around E£35. A taxi anywhere within town costs E£5.
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AROUND ASWAN
Philae (Aglikia Island)
The dreamy Temple of Philae (adult/student E£40/20; 7am-4pm Oct-Apr, 7am-5pm May-Sep), just south of Aswan, was dedicated to god Isis who found the heart of her slain brother, Osiris, on Philae Island (now submerged). Relocated stone by stone in the 1970s to save it from being flooded by the High Dam (an ambitious construction project completed by the British in 1902), Philae today retains a regal grandeur that’s bound to impress. Most of the temple was built by the Ptolemaic dynasty and the Romans. Early Christians later turned the hypostyle hall into a chapel.
Tickets are purchased from the small office before the boat landing at Shellal, south of the Old Dam. You’ll pay around E£30 for a taxi to bring you here, wait for an hour or so and then bring you back to town. You’ll need to negotiate a price for a boat to take you between the ticket box and the island – the captains have formed a cartel, so it’s very hard indeed to organise a return trip for less than E£40 per boat, particularly at night. It’s often best to hop on a boat with a larger tour group, where you can easily negotiate the price down to E£5 each return.
A nightly sound-and-light show ( 230 5376; www.soundandlight.com.eg; adult/child E£80/44), lasting 1½ hours, is held at the temple. Check the website or the tourist office (Click here) in Aswan for performance times and languages.
Abu Simbel
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Ramses II, never one to do things by halves, surpassed even himself when he had the magnificent Great Temple of Abu Simbel ( 400 325; adult/student E£80/44; 6am-5pm Oct-Apr, 6am-6pm May-Sep) carved out of a mountainside. The temple was dedicated to the gods Ra-Harakhty, Amun and Ptah as much as to the deified pharaoh himself. Guarding the entrance, the four famous colossal statues of Ramses II sit majestically, each more than 20m tall, with smaller statues of the pharaoh’s mother, Queen Tuya, his beloved wife, Nefertari, and some of their children.
The other temple at the Abu Simbel complex is the rock-cut Temple of Hathor, fronted by six 10m-high standing statues. Four represent Ramses and the other two Nefertari. Both temples were moved out of the way of the rising waters of Lake Nasser in the 1960s and relocated here.
Sound-and-light shows (www.soundandlight.com.eg; adult/child E£80/44) are performed here each night. The website and the tourist office (Click here) in Aswan will have the latest schedules.
There are banks in town, but no ATMs. You can eat at the Seti Abu Simbel or at a clutch of ramshackle eateries (including ta’amiyya and shwarma stands) on the main street.
Sleeping
Abu Simbel Village ( 012 363 9794; s/d E£80/110; ) Catering to the budget set, the rooms wear the BBC (Basic But Clean) moniker with pride. Frills are at a premium; don’t expect much more than a concrete courtyard and wheezing air-con.
Eskaleh ( 012 368 0521; fikrykachif@genevalink.com; s €30-35, d €40-60; ) A self-styled Nubian cultural centre, this sensational little hotel is housed in traditionally constructed mud-brick buildings and filled with local furniture and crafts. Rooms are simple but have more sparkle than most, and the modern tiled bathrooms are a welcome addition. There’s a lovely restaurant-lounge, a roof terrace with views over the lake and serenity aplenty. The friendly owner Mr Fikri Hassan (described