Last day in Aswan, the back to Cairo.

The best thing about the Old Cataract Hotel was the view. The hotel is famous, and I believe, usually full (Lots of tourist groups use it as a base.) but that means that the folks that work there are less interested in customer service. The contrast with the Winter Palace was palpable.

But we did have a little balcony!

And the bougainvillea were beautiful.

We decided that we couldn't leave Aswan without taking a ride in a feluka.

So we ambled down the corniche, and found Captain Abdul.

There he is, bringing the boat over.

It was a nice ride.

 And things were going well.

So well, I could lend a hand without risk!

Goodbye Aswan!

 Hello Cairo! This is a view from our hotel.

If you look closely, you'll see three bridges. That far, third bridge is where we walked for dinner. About two miles

Here's the route. The problem wasn't the distance, and we never felt unsafe (though we were the only non- Egyptians we saw) but crossing those streets is a real challenge!

But first, we had to relax and enjoy the view of the sunset

 Fantastic

 and here we are at Abu ElSid. A great meal, and really pretty cheap.

We did have to wait for our table, and there was smoking (cigarettes, cigars, hookas) but it was not as bad as I remember it from  the olden days.

We took an Uber back to the hotel.

You don't know how hard it is to ID your Uber car if you can't read the numbers on the license plate! (they use the Arabic script). Then, the driver kept asking us how to get to the hotel. He didn't believe the GPS.

AND the surge pricing was at 2.4x!!! so we ended up paying about $3.50.

Overall, a great day.

Aswan. Unfinished Obelisk, Philae, Nubian Museum

There have to be millions of donkeys in Egypt. They use them for everything! I am happy to say that MOST of them look well cared for. Which makes me think that it is usually their owners who are also their employers.

Aswan is where all the red granite in Egypt originates. There are several quarries around town, and probably the most famous is the one where the unfinished obelisk is found:

It was to be the biggest of all the obelisks, but they found a flaw and stopped working on it. (the text is usually, "They just stopped working". Well, what did you expect? There was a flaw! Not to say there weren't lamentations at the time, but heck!)

It's huge!

 Me, for scale.

Here is George Atef, our guide. He is a Coptic Christian.We are on our way to Philae Temple. Another temple that was moved because of the high dam.

Our captain. You'll see him again later.

Philae

No Isis worshipers here!

Our beloved Hothar!

Lots of columns. This is a relatively new temple. Built in the time of Ptolemy.

 Coptic Crosses

 Holding a tiny sphinx

 and again

 Holding a tiny baboon!

 Bess

Baboons with Instruments!

More tiny baboons

 Ankhs with hands

 Sp in front of the temple

We are tied up to this big boat because

our captain couldn't get the motor running.

This is where we had lunch

This is the menu. Fuul and Felafel.

Here it was being made

 Back to our room

 Dreaming dreams of Nubia.

The Nubian Museum

 Nubian Fertility Symbols

Thoth as a Baboon!

I know, I didn't believe it either.

This is one strange thing.

Dinner at Dokka. A Nubian restaurant.

Chicken Tagen

Beef Tagen. Both of these were delicious.

This is molokiya. It is not delicious. We did not eat it. It is very, very slimy.

The crew at Dokka.

 Then back to the hotel for a good night's rest