AUC Pics, Part 1

In no particular order, which suits AUC style anyway.  More to come later!

Up the Nile: Day 8 (Abu Simbel)

This was the grand finale of my trip: The temples of Abu Simbel, on the edge of Lake  Nasser, at sunrise.  We were the only ones there, but sadly you can't take pictures inside of the most beautiful paintings yet on my trip. Walking alone through these temples gave me shivers!

Up the Nile: Day 7 (Aswan to Abu Simbel)

Here's pictures of the drive over the old dam, looking out over the rocky first cataract, and then through the desert to Abu Simbel.  I stayed at the Nubian Culture House there, which was basically a lovely Nubian-style B&B with good food, music, decor, and scenery.  We caught the sound and light show at the temples, which I hear is pretty much the only worthwhile one on the Nile Valley trek, and which I did enjoy a lot.  I slid into my mosquito-netted bed to catch a few hours sleep before the last day of my vacation...

Up the Nile: Day 6 (Aswan)

My last day in Aswan was reserved for seeing the normal tourist attractions, unlike the somewhat esoteric St. Simeon monastery.  I met Farouk's group bright and early, and we started off driving out of Aswan and over the old dam, which has stunning views over the rocky first cataract area of the Nile.  We took a quick gander at the High Dam, looking out over the Nile below and Lake Nasser--the largest artificial lake in the world I believe, which was created by the construction of the High Dam and destroyed the Nubian civilization as it once was. In addition, many monuments would have been under water without the intervention of UNESCO and other international actors. I'm sure there's reading out there to be done about the controversy of the dam and the problems it has created/solved.

After our trip to the High Dam we headed down to the section of the Nile between the two dams to see the temple of Isis at Philae Island, which is one of sites that was moved and thus saved from being submerged permanently.  The island it is now on has been landscaped and planted to resemble the original island, and the project was excellent at recreating the site without trying to restore it to former glory; just to present it how it was before it was moved.

On the way back into town we swung by the granite quarry which used to serve as the site for smashing out the massive stones the obelisks were made from.  There is still an unfinished one left there, because a flaw was discovered in the stone (obelisks were made from one single piece of stone, so they had to be without any problems obviously) and thus it was discarded.  If it had been finished, it would have been the largest obelisk we know of now!

Here are the pictures--as you can see, I was in love with the columns at the temple of Isis: