Aswan is right down in the South of Egypt, near to Sudan, it sits on the banks of a particularly stunning stretch of the Nile. The town is known for its lively souk (market) and so I spent the best part of a day negotiating my way from one end to the other and developing my bargaining skills. I have started a scarf collection (although existing shoe and handbag collection has not been forgotten). I figure my new scarves will come in handy when I make the transition from Egyptian summer to NZ winter in a few weeks!
The Aswan area is home to an ethnic group called the Nubians. The Nubian people don’t speak Arabic but their own language and have a very distinct culture. It was lovely to spend the late afternoon in a boat, cruising the Nile and stopping on Elephantine Island to relax with the Nubian people with some delicious Nubian coffee and sheesha (water pipe with apple flavoured tobacco). I must admit I have come to really like the sheesha. In Islam alcohol is prohibited so many an relaxing evening in Egypt is spent smoking sheesha, drinking sweet mint tea and playing dominoes instead. The sheesha tobacco can be flavoured with peach, cherry, orange, flowers, mint or melon but my favourite remains the more commonly found apple.
A lovely elderly Nubian man joined us on the boat for a wee while to talk to us about the Nubian way of life. His delightful presence was more interesting than anything.
After his visit we jumped off the boat and scrambled up the banks of the Nile to jump on the back of some camels. It was a beautiful desert sunset as we raced our camels across the desert to a Nubian village. Go Commanda Go!
A Nubian family were our hosts for the evening. We were cooked a delicious traditional meal and the evening was topped off with dancing and a party led by the young children with the women singing and drumming.
