There are a couple of ways to explore the islands and west bank. You can cross the
Nile to either Elephantine Island or the west bank by separate ferries. This
is the inexpensive way and offers the opportunity of mixing with the locals.
Interestingly, women sit in one section of the boats and men in another. The
men always exit the boat first. (Sorry ladies, I didn't make this rule). Or
you can cross the Nile by felucca. When negotiating for a felucca, be sure to clearly
agree to locations, times and costs. And expect to pay for any deviations.
In fact, expect to be asked for more than agreed upon anyway. The captain will
always ask for baksheesh for his helper. I leave it to you to decide how to
deal with this.
In the desert west of the Nile lies the
fortress-like Monastery
of St. Simeon. The monastery was built in the 7th century.
Legend has it that St. Simeon encountered a funeral procession on his
wedding day and was so affected by it that he bacame a hermit, sealing
himself up at this monastery. Also, as the story goes, he would stand
sleeplessly each night reading from the bible with his long beard tied
to the ceiling so as to painfully jerk him awake should he collapse into sleep.
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On the west bank, I hired a camel to take me to St. Simeons Monastery, and
from there onto the tomb of the nobles an hour or so north across the
desert. I was amused by how much camels talk. This guy was making
noises every minute or two the whole way. We had quite a conversation, but
his secrets are safe with me.
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The tombs of the nobles lie on a desert hillside visible from the Nile.
They're easily accessible via a ferry that crosses the Nile near there, leaving
from the northern edge of downtown Aswan. However I found it more interesting
to get there by camel, giving me an opportunity to experience a little bit
of the desert.
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Previous Page: Nubian villages
That's all folks!
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