Having done everything we could about booking the ferry to Sudan, we decided to have a day of sightseeing.
Leaving the hotel, we walked to the public ferry that would take us across to Elephantine island. The island is home to two Nubian villages, some ruins and the not particularly attractive Movenpick hotel.
After the noise of the East bank of Aswan, the island is an oasis of calm. Getting off the ferry we were greeted by mud brick houses, some colourfully painted, and narrow sand covered streets. Following the helpful signs, we headed first to Baba Dool, a traditional Nubian house, which has been opened up to the public by the owners. Inside, the painted walls are covered with traditional handicrafts, some of which are for sale. The house is charming and the owners very friendly.
After a look round, we had a cup of mint tea and were then taken by boat over to Kitchener's island, home of the botanical gardens; so called because the land was given to Lord Horatio Kitchener when he was commander of the Egyptian army. The gardens are a pleasant place to while away an hour and if it wasn't for the school children and the man who was convinced we wanted to hear the music from his mobile phone, a peaceful place as well.
From the gardens we got a boat back to Elephantine island where we wandered through the villages towards Animalia, another Nubian house, this time turned into a museum. Passing the village school one of the teachers, Mr Badry, greeted us and invited us to have a look round. The school was surprisingly modern and Mr Badry was an enthusiastic host. Debs mentioned that she had been an English language teacher and he was soon getting her to help with his pronunciation.
Eventually we waved goodbye and carried on the short distance to Animalia where we were met by Mohamed Sobhi, the owner, who took us on a fascinating tour of his house. He has collected lots of traditional Nubian implements, some interesting photos of the Nile prior to the Aswan Dam being completed and rather worryingly, if you are about to be camping in the desert, a collection of somewhat moth-eaten stuffed animals, among them vipers, jackals and scorpions!
Walking around the villages and the Nubian houses had been great and has hopefully given us an insight into what we are going to encounter along the Nile in Sudan. The people that we met were a lot friendlier, which has made us feel better about moving on.
Back on the mainland and it was straight into an argument with the public ferry staff about the fee for our trip. We knew it only cost 1LE per person, so why they thought we would be happy paying 4LE per person, we can't say. Looking at us with a 'it's nothing to you face' failed to impress. In the end begrudgingly I paid 3LE for the two of us, only because we would have been waiting all day for him to give us the change. Debs wasn't impressed at all that I had caved in, but sometimes it is just too much effort to keep arguing.
After the rushing round getting visas, catching trains and trying to buy ferry tickets, it was nice to have a largely relaxing day. A nice dinner at Aswan Moon restaurant finished the day off well. Tomorrow I plan to make a practice run to the ferry port in anticipation of us getting tickets.
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