Sweating it out in Aswan

Yesterday I took a tour through the Pyramids of Giza and Saqqara. It was pretty impressive and I learned some good stuff about Egyptian history. It was interesting having some many of the guards offering to take my picture for me, of course with the necessary payment of baksheesh afterwards. I left the picture taking to my guide and got the rest of the pictures myself.

After the tour I grabbed some dinner and came back to my hostel where I talked to the guys running it and learned a little about Arabic writing. They were a lot of fun to talk to and very happy to keep the conversation going.

I caught my train at 10:00 and tried to sleep on my way to Aswan. I was able to lay across three seats, but my back was sore and the airconditioning was cranked so high I had to put on pants and socks and cover up with my towel.

When I arrived in Aswan it was about 47C or right around 110F. It is hot here. I got to see the Aswan Dam, not really that interesting of a site, and then saw some really cool ruins from the Egyptians, Romans, and Greeks which were all moved to their current site to avoid the flooding from the daming of the Nile. The people in my group were very cool and we grabbed a dinner of kabobs after the tour. Then Nick and I got mint tea with one of our guides and learned a little more about Egyptian dating customs. There's not a whole lot to write about that, but it's a new perspective.

Then Nick and I walked through the bazaar back to our hotel. He was looking for new sandals. When he had gone in a mosque he had taken his off and someone stole them. So he had some hand-me-downs that were in rough shape.

We found a place that looked well stocked and between the two of us entered into a marathon bargaining session which got him the sandals he wanted and me with a table cloth for 100 pounds which seemed like a good price when the guy started out at 340. Now it's time for bed. Tomorrow I wake up bright and early 2:45 for a trip to Abu Tabel, which is right on the border with Sudan. It has some amazing ruins and then I get on a felucca for a cruise up to Luxor.

Sorry if the entries are a little dry, time has been pressed. It's pretty much all I can do right now. If you're bored my feelings won't be hurt if you stop reading. Hopefully I can spice it up later.