Welcome to Aswan, Egypt

We flew from Beirut to Cairo and transferred to a flight to Aswan. Aswan occupies a special position on the Nile, the site of the first cataract, i.e. end of free navigation, before the British built the first dam. Today it's home to the Aswan High Dam.

We visited the Unfinished Obelisk and the Nubian Museum in Aswan. I found both to be underwhelming. With the wisdom of hindsight, they are both skippable.

Egypt is turning out to be much more underdeveloped and dysfunctional than I had expected, possibly even more underdeveloped than India. Contrasting with the high achievements of ancient Egypt, I am totally depressed by such decline. 

• The streets are dingy and filthy, many unpaved, and rampant with feral dogs and cats, There doesn't seem to be trash collection. Trash piles are burnt in the middle of the street.
• Taxis, boatmen, horse carriage drivers, scam artists, beggars... all insist on their entitlement to your undivided attention as you walk down the street, when all your attention is already spent on the path of least crap.
• All the tourist attractions operate on the two-price system, foreigners pay upwards 10x of Egyptians. That strategy has been spread to everyone. We get overcharged for everything, restaurants, shops, markets, buses, ferries, taxis, maybe except for the supermarket.
Children, even middle-class, would ask us for money. The only other country where this has happened to us is India. Do I blame this on British colonialism?

I was beginning to doubt whether it's worthwhile coming to Egypt.

Sun-Ling disembarking from the plane at the Cairo airport.


The just-after-sunset aerial view of the Aswan area as we approach. The Nile is flowing north from right to left.




The street in front of our AirBnb apartment.


The Nile River, blue and flowing north with an easy strength through downtown Aswan. The single lateen sail felucca is the traditional boat of the Nile. Video below or link here.






We stopped for a brief look inside the huge Coptic Orthodox Church on our way to the Unfinished Obelisk.




A near and a panoramic look at the so-called Unfinished Obelisk in one of the Aswan Pink Granite Quarries. The pano shows the typical desert lanscape of the area.




A few highlights of the Nubian Museum. Second below "statue of an official" is from the 8th Century BC.






Aswan street photos. 3rd below = pita bread.






Of course Aswan means the two Aswan Dams are close by. Here's a view from the top of the Old Dam to the New Dam, far to the back center-right.


It's Ramadan so many of the streets are decorated with light and streamers. Here's the street to the side of our apartment just before sundown.


Takeout falafel sandwich and eggplant dinner from a street stall.


There is a new-ish souk (covered market) a block back from the Nile featuring goods for tourists and locals.




Sunset on the Nile.










Nile River Cruise Ships.


Bonus. Aswan Train Station in the Golden Hour just before sunset.