Having some time in the morning before our flight, we decided to take our host up on an offer to venture out by boat to see the remnants of the once treacherous First Cataract of the Nile, just south of Elephantine Island. These formerly tempestuous waters have been rendered mostly calm by the construction of the Low and High dams, so where there was once rushing rapids and white water now is home now to only the merest hints of fast currents perforated by many small vortices and upswellings, such that even the most tremulous boater would not fear taking his craft through the rocky pinnacles and outcroppings of the First Cataract.
Our ride through these tranquil banks brought us past a good quantity of the local animal life, particularly that of the avian species. These included a variety of herons, as well as egrets, cormorants, terns, pied kingfishers, moor hens, and little green bee eaters. These were joined on land by camels, goats, donkeys, and a few water buffalo. The dreaded Nile crocodile did not make an appearance, but this hardly came as a surprise as this fell beast now mainly lurks in more southerly waters below the dams.
On the way back to the island, a Nubian boy on a surf board paddled up to our motor launch and grabbed hold, singing Frère Jacques to us for some tips. We had formerly only witnessed this practice from afar on shore, and so were much satisfied to experience it first hand.
After eating breakfast we took a brief walk to the southern tip of Elephantine Island where we saw some ruins (and a herd of goats) before returning to our Airbnb and then venturing on to the Aswan airport. At the perhaps ill advice of our host we arrived far too early, and were forced to wait near the entrance for the first security screening post to open up (most public government run buildings and parks here have a metal detector and guard at the entrance, even the peaceful Kitchener's Island).
Once in, the check in procedure proved smooth with barely no lines in the small Aswan airport. The vast majority, if not all, of our fellow travelers were foreigners (typical with Egyptian domestic flights) which added to the general tranquility, as there were not many people in total.
A bus ride across the tarmac brought us to our aircraft, and we soon found ourselves once more in Cairo.
-Theodore
Tut 1 on the boat with the rocky bank in the background. Elephantine Island is named for a group of such rocks that resemble these plodding beasts.
The rocks in question seen the previous day
Tut 2 and Mummy with the Elephantine ruins in the background
The southern tip of the island
More ruins. The domed structure between our heads is the monastery of St. Simeon; it is actually on the opposite bank at the top of a hill.
Formerly the underside of a lintel. This design is common, depicting Upper and Lower Egypt as birds wearing the respective crowns of these regions. Upper Egypt (top of picture) has the head of a vulture while Lower Egypt has a snake head, which are also representative of these areas.
An unusually green pasture at the end of the island with a herd of goats
The outside of our Airbnb in Aswan
At our hotel in Cairo
I hope Mom is getting a lot of bird pictures with her camera!
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