Nile Valley What to Expect

Don't stick to the tourist areas, it's better if you wonder back off the main drag and into the local haunts. You'll get a few weird looks and the kids will probably follow you for a while but well worth the effort to see how everyone lives and get some real Egyptian food!

When we were in Aswan, we have the fortunate luck to be able to go to the Nubian Village just a little north of town. It was an interesting contrast to that of the Arab countrymen. Hosni Mobarak actually made it mandatory for the Nubian school children to go to school, so it was neat to see them headed off with their spongebob squarepants backpacks...

Elephantine Island is the largest island in the Aswan area. It was the original centre of life here, with settlement dating back to 3000BC. We spent a couple of hours here, visiting one of the colourful Nubian villages. We walked around the village streets and had the chance to interact with some of the very friendly local children. We also got the chance to visit the home of a well respected resident who owns a fleet of feluccas. The photos do not do this place justice. It was really interesting to walk the maze of very narrow streets and learn a little bit about the Nubian way of life.

Try and get to the local orphanage and take some gifts for the children, is a neat experience and the children are so cute and just love having cuddles and hanging out with you:) We went here with our tour guide- was awesome!

Life story of queen Hatshepsut is really interesting!! she was very strong woman and she wasn't really that kind of fair ideal person Queen "Hatshepsut" was the first one to send ships to the country's "Puntland" (Somalia now), so they are loaded and perfumes .. And "Hatshepsut" is the fifth kings of the eighteenth dynasty, which also belongs to the King "Tutankhamen." A daughter "Thutmose I," and wife "Thutmose II," has received the sentence with "Thutmose III," which was the son of one of her husband Gariaat, at the same time, her daughter's husband, and remained until her death in 1484 BC holding the reins of government, the ruling was over cogens her life, and deported "Thutmose III" from power, it was not described to him in the Governing Although she was a female had represented itself in the form of statues man has been flat without breasts, and has borrowed to live. Having died liberation "Thutmose III" from the trusteeship of heavy, and I like to retaliate against them Vatm construction of the temple, and the proportion of the same, and the name and crush most forms excavated and icons, and a place name and his titles in many quarters (please look the pictures i put inside) The design and implementation of building the temple Engineer "die" QC and one close to it. It belongs to a family of modest "Armant" but became the first president to acknowledge reception of the royal family, and the President receiving machine "Amon", and is in charge of all construction, so it made the greatest professional successes in the history of ancient Egypt.

Activities, to go see the Aswan Dam that has created the largest man-made lake in the world. It is easy to get to by taxi.

Abul Simbel is AMAZING...worth the quick flight from Aswan to see.. it's incredible that these monuments (Ramses) were built into the rock.. a

Aswan, Egypt's sunniest southern city and ancient frontier town located about 81 miles south of Luxor, has a distinctively African atmosphere. Its ancient Egyptian name was Syene. Small enough to walk around and graced with the most beautiful setting on the Nile, the pace of life is slow and relaxing. Days can be spent strolling up and down the broad Corniche watching the sailboats etch the sky with their tall masts or sitting in floating restaurants listening to Nubian music and eating freshly caught fish. In Aswan the Nile is at its most beautiful, flowing through amber desert and granite rocks, round emerald islands covered in palm groves and tropical plants. Explore the souk, full of the scent and color of spices, perfumes, scarves and baskets. View the spectacular sunsets while having tea on the terrace of the Old Cataract Hotel (Named due to the location of the Nile's first cataract located here). Aswan has been a favorite winter resort since the beginning of the nineteenth century, and it's still a perfect place to get away from it all. Every night Nubian dancers and musicians perform in the Cultural Center, just off the Corniche. Folklore troupes recreate scenes from village life and perform the famous Nubian mock stick-fight dances.
Dancers at the Cultural Center Aswan is a strategic location which currently houses a garrison of the Egyptian army, but which has also seen ancient Egyptian garrisons, as well as that of General Kitchener, Turkish troops of the Ottoman empire and the Romans. The city proper lies on the east bank of the Nile. Relax here, visit a few mosques, but then prepare for an adventure. The bazaar runs along the Corniche, which continues past the Ferial Gardens and the Nubian Museum, and continues on to the Cemetery, with its forest of cupolas surmounted tombs from the Fatimid period. Just east of the cemetery in the famous area quarries is the gigantic Unfinished Obelisk . Just to the south of this, two Graeco-Roman sarcophagi and an unfinished colossus remain half buried in the sand. The most obvious is Elephantine Island , which is timeless with artifacts dating from pre-Dynastic times onward. It is the largest island in the area. Just beyond Elephantine is Kitchener's Island (Geziret el-Nabatat). It was named for the British general Haratio Kitchener (185--1916) and was sent to Egypt in 1883 to reorganize the Egyptian army, which he then led against the Sudanese Mahdi. But the island is known for its garden and the exotic plants the Kitchener planted there, and which continue to flourish today. On the opposite shore (west bank), the cliffs are surmounted by the tomb of a marabut, Qubbet el-Hawwa, who was a local saint. Below are tombs of the local (pharaonic) nobles and dignitaries. Upriver a bit is the tomb of Mohammed Shah Aga Khan who died in 1957. Known as the Tomb of the Aga Khan , it is beautiful in its simplicity. A road from there leads back to the Coptic Monastery of St Simeon , which was built in the sixth century in honor of Amba Hadra, a local saint. Just up river a bit, there is also the old Aswan dam, built by the British, which was enlarged, expanded, but unable to control the Nile for irrigation.

Its too hot, head north up the nile asap. Always drink bottled water.

What an amazing place to visit! Many sights, smells and food! Careful not to drink the water though! Check out the sketching on the temples.... and imagine what the colours would've looked like when originally done!

Activities, to go see the Aswan Dam that has created the largest man-made lake in the world. It is easy to get to by taxi.

Abul Simbel is AMAZING...worth the quick flight from Aswan to see.. it's incredible that these monuments (Ramses) were built into the rock.. a

Aswan, Egypt's sunniest southern city and ancient frontier town located about 81 miles south of Luxor, has a distinctively African atmosphere. Its ancient Egyptian name was Syene. Small enough to walk around and graced with the most beautiful setting on the Nile, the pace of life is slow and relaxing. Days can be spent strolling up and down the broad Corniche watching the sailboats etch the sky with their tall masts or sitting in floating restaurants listening to Nubian music and eating freshly caught fish. In Aswan the Nile is at its most beautiful, flowing through amber desert and granite rocks, round emerald islands covered in palm groves and tropical plants. Explore the souk, full of the scent and color of spices, perfumes, scarves and baskets. View the spectacular sunsets while having tea on the terrace of the Old Cataract Hotel (Named due to the location of the Nile's first cataract located here). Aswan has been a favorite winter resort since the beginning of the nineteenth century, and it's still a perfect place to get away from it all. Every night Nubian dancers and musicians perform in the Cultural Center, just off the Corniche. Folklore troupes recreate scenes from village life and perform the famous Nubian mock stick-fight dances.
Dancers at the Cultural Center Aswan is a strategic location which currently houses a garrison of the Egyptian army, but which has also seen ancient Egyptian garrisons, as well as that of General Kitchener, Turkish troops of the Ottoman empire and the Romans. The city proper lies on the east bank of the Nile. Relax here, visit a few mosques, but then prepare for an adventure. The bazaar runs along the Corniche, which continues past the Ferial Gardens and the Nubian Museum, and continues on to the Cemetery, with its forest of cupolas surmounted tombs from the Fatimid period. Just east of the cemetery in the famous area quarries is the gigantic Unfinished Obelisk . Just to the south of this, two Graeco-Roman sarcophagi and an unfinished colossus remain half buried in the sand. The most obvious is Elephantine Island , which is timeless with artifacts dating from pre-Dynastic times onward. It is the largest island in the area. Just beyond Elephantine is Kitchener's Island (Geziret el-Nabatat). It was named for the British general Haratio Kitchener (185--1916) and was sent to Egypt in 1883 to reorganize the Egyptian army, which he then led against the Sudanese Mahdi. But the island is known for its garden and the exotic plants the Kitchener planted there, and which continue to flourish today. On the opposite shore (west bank), the cliffs are surmounted by the tomb of a marabut, Qubbet el-Hawwa, who was a local saint. Below are tombs of the local (pharaonic) nobles and dignitaries. Upriver a bit is the tomb of Mohammed Shah Aga Khan who died in 1957. Known as the Tomb of the Aga Khan , it is beautiful in its simplicity. A road from there leads back to the Coptic Monastery of St Simeon , which was built in the sixth century in honor of Amba Hadra, a local saint. Just up river a bit, there is also the old Aswan dam, built by the British, which was enlarged, expanded, but unable to control the Nile for irrigation.

Its too hot, head north up the nile asap. Always drink bottled water.

What an amazing place to visit! Many sights, smells and food! Careful not to drink the water though! Check out the sketching on the temples.... and imagine what the colours would've looked like when originally done!

don't go in summer! it's to hot

luxor a fabulous city. loads oof historical sites. relaxing holiday socialising limited to the hotels mostly . great local food and friendly locals. women may feel a little intimidated by all the attention.. more suited for couples. dont forget vacines. hotels are amazing .

une semaine de rêve : croisière sur le nil, parcour de plusieurs villes, escales,escapades au temple abu simbel, très beaux paysages et couchers de soleil!

Please beware of any 'henna' tattoos that are black. 'Black Henna' is not real henna, it is not natural and is very dangerous. I was invited in to a Nubian household in Aswan and received one of these and after a few days it burnt in to my leg and I got very sick - two years on I have a pretty burn scar in the shape of a flower on my ankle! Be polite and say no thank you :)

Beware of the heat! Enjoy a boat trip on the Nile in the sunset. Don't miss the market, real bargains!