Egypt Day 4

Today was quite the day. I got up at 3:30 to get ready for a 4 hour drive from Aswan south to Abu Simbel. Ramses II, also known as Ramses The Great, is considered to be the greatest Pharaoh of all times. I guess you have to be great to have a line of condoms named after you.

His wife Queen Nefertari was also very important, as a co-ruler. This temple was built at the edge of the Nile, and was basically a statement to anyone travelling down the Nile from Africa.

To show Queen Nefertari's importance there is a second temple right beside Ramses', dedicated to her.

Each of the statues is over 20 m high, and was carved out of a rock face. When the Aswan dam was built the entire temple would have been submerged, so it was moved and reassembled at its present location.

The interiors are covered with striking relief scenes. It is a very impressive sight.

I also visited a local museum. They don't get a lot of visitors, so I met the chief of the village, and got a personal guided tour.

One of the items on display was a marriage contract.i have included it my photos, and I highlighted the part about who has to do the laundry.

My other highlight today was a 2 hour felucca ride. These are the sailboats that go back to ancient times.

Aswan is very pretty because there are numerous islands in the Nile, so the scenery is attractive. I was the only passenger as we sailed around the islands. The owner had me steer for about half an hours, going downstream. Coming back up is a lot trickier because you have to tack a lot. It was hard work.

Today was another beautiful day, and because Friday is the Muslim Sunday there were a lot of boats out, and a lot of parties. Nice to see.

When I tell locals that I'm from Canada just about all reply "Canada Dry!" I can't remember the last time I had a Canada Dry, but it's nice to be known for something.