We know…it makes no sense but that’s the way the Egyptians look at it. The country’s long, long history pretty much centers around the 4,000-mile Nile River which generally splits the country down the middle. Starting way down in Uganda and fed along the way by several tributaries as it flows north, it enters Egypt from its southern neighbor Sudan and then empties out into the Mediterranean Sea at Alexandria. So, the direction of the river flow means that the southern part of the country is up-river from the northern part. Hence, Upper Egypt. Got it? As to the history, as far back as it has been recorded, civilizations have mostly lived along the Nile River for drinking water, crop cultivation and transportation. To the east is the Sinai Peninsula, an uninviting mountainous\desert area and to the west is the vast Sahara Desert, extending almost to the Atlantic Ocean.
The overnight train ride from Cairo to Aswan on day 25, June 29 could be better characterized as a train wreck. We were warned that the quality of train travel was really not up to that of some of the great countries …. Germany, Japan, etc., but that it was acceptable. Also, we would save a hotel night and even got dinner and breakfast included in the fare. So, Ahmed, our logistics guy at “Your Egypt Travel” accompanied us to the station waiting area and got us situated in our cabin after a two-hour delay before wishing us a good trip … and probably also “good luck” in Arabic.
Our sleeper car had ten double-berth compartments and a toilet on each end of the car. The bunk bed was a sofa during the day and the compartment had a small sink. Basically, the compartment was nasty and dirty, not much worked (such as lights and plugs) and the food was bad, even by Bill’s standards. The big widow in the outside aisle by our room had a bullet hole, although Andrea thinks it was caused by a rock. Either way, it was shattered.
Waiting on the train. 
Dinner on the trainWe immediately hit the road and went to view the “High Dam” and Lake Nassar. Fascinating. This massive dam was built in the 1960’s, took ten years and was in partnership with the Russians. Its purpose was to once and for all, control the extreme flooding of the Nile River caused by the rainy season that had plagued the country for over 6,000 years. Problem was, it created one of the largest water reservoirs in the world behind the dam … over 2,000 square miles of lake and extending far into Sudan and flooding or covering all the historical monuments in its path. Thus started one of the largest projects in history to literally relocate the statues, monuments and towns to higher ground. Visiting these things, you would never know that this was done.
From the dam 
One of the monuments that were moved 
Our hotel that night was “The Old Cataract-Aswan”. Besides having a previous guest list that reads like a Who’s-Who of the world: Henry Kissinger (he negotiated the Camp David Peace Accords here in the 1970’s), Princess Di, and Agatha Christy (she wrote part of Death on the Nile here) the place was absolutely stunning both inside and out. Probably the best ever for us and we have been to a few!
The Old Cataract 
View from our balcony 
The next morning, we boarded the “Sun Goddess”, our home for the next three nights\four days for a cruise up (down?) the Nile River. This was a thirty-suite boat with pool, bar, dining room and a few shops. The drill was to float for a while, stop, tour, get back on, float some more, etc. Our tour guide Ash was on the same boat on another floor. Total number of guests: 10. Total number of Crew: 40. Because it is hot as hell …110 degrees at peak… this is considered low tourist season so we definitely had the boat to ourselves. The food was a set menu with buffet breakfast. As luck would have it, our neighbors across the hall were Auburn fans from Georgia. We tried to overlook this terrible fallacy and really enjoyed hanging out with them.
Looking like Nefertiti
Roof in King Ramesses the Great’s tomb
The Tomb
King tut Tomb
Headed into the valley of the kings 
We sat on the deck of the ship and I saw this guy and thought what a cool pic he would make.
Luxor at Nght 
BAT BAT BAT in the corner in the side chamber of one of the tombs 
Pool day
Towel decor
View from our balcony
Sunset on the cruise 
Bill and ASH, our guide in deep conversation. 
We took a buggy ride thru one of the towns and were tempted to buy some bread here. 
Mummified crocodiles 
Buggy ride
Now, here’s the problem with writing this blog. Upper (lower) Egypt is really the birthplace of this country and the history extends back dozens (60, approximately!!) of centuries. The world has done a magnificent job excavating and preserving the keys to its history. Consequently, there is a mind-boggling quantity of facts to absorb and history to see and remember. Our tour company (and guides) did a wonderful job hitting the highlights and then explaining in minute detail but it would take volumes to write of all that we saw and heard. Thus, we will not even try here but suffice it to say that it was a humbling and once-in-a-lifetime experience to see this incredible country and meet its people!
Our flight back up (down) to Cairo was painless vis-a-vis the trip down, And so, on July 5th, day number 31 we are relaxing by the pool at the Fairmont Hotel-Cairo getting ready for our flight tonight at 2:20am to begin Segment 4: Kenya, Africa!
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