I don't have real travel mishaps very often (I only remember missing a flight one time in my 50 year flying career, and that was because United was late and I missed a connection, not because I was late!). Well, this was definitely an "oops"!
Originally, friend Ted was to join me on the trip to Abu Simbel and the following Nile cruise, but work - and the Egyptian legal system intervened, and he was unable to go. He suggested that his colleague Trish join me instead, and on Friday, car and driver picked us up from the apartment and trundled us off to the airport. (Now that is a luxury thatt I could get used to). Ahmed, our facilitator (see previous post), met us at the airport and saw us to our plane.
(An aside about the security in the Cairo Airport - and the three others I have seen in this short week, Aswan International, Abu Simbel, and Luxor) have two sets of security, one immediately as you enter the airport, and another at the gate. That said, they don't seem to be terribly compulsive about it!)
So, we did manage to get on the plane. The trouble started when we landed. Both Trish and I assumed that we were at our final destination, and deplaned (along with the rest of the passengers who looked like tourists - the business like people stayed on the plane). I knew something was wrong when I realized that we had "arrived" an hour and a half earlier than our stated arrival, and there was noone there to meet us. Sure enough, we had gotten off at Aswan, instead of staying on the plane for the 40 minute flight on to Abu Simbel!
I have to tell you, the people at Egypt Air were fabulous. Once we were all clear about how it was our fault, not theis fault (there are times when being stupid - in their eyes - females pays off), they invalidated the second half of our tickets, rebooked us on the next flight about 2 hours later, in business class, no less - and we weree on our way again. Air Canada eat your heart out.
Luckily, we had started the whole process early - 3 o'clock in the morning, to be exact. Our return flight from Abu Simbel to Aswan to pick up the Nile cruise was early afternoon, and I wasn't sure there would be enough time, but it worked out perfectly. The tour guide was redirected, met us when the later flight landed, and wisked us off to the temples, which were only 15 minutes from the airport. There are two main temples here, what is known as the great temple of Ramses II, and the temple of Hathor.
Nora holding the Ankh, the key of life...
ourr tour guide for Abu Simbel ...
....and there it is
...our tour guide for today and the next three days...
we got to the temple itself by faluka, the Egyptian sailing boats,,,,
Originally, friend Ted was to join me on the trip to Abu Simbel and the following Nile cruise, but work - and the Egyptian legal system intervened, and he was unable to go. He suggested that his colleague Trish join me instead, and on Friday, car and driver picked us up from the apartment and trundled us off to the airport. (Now that is a luxury thatt I could get used to). Ahmed, our facilitator (see previous post), met us at the airport and saw us to our plane.
(An aside about the security in the Cairo Airport - and the three others I have seen in this short week, Aswan International, Abu Simbel, and Luxor) have two sets of security, one immediately as you enter the airport, and another at the gate. That said, they don't seem to be terribly compulsive about it!)
So, we did manage to get on the plane. The trouble started when we landed. Both Trish and I assumed that we were at our final destination, and deplaned (along with the rest of the passengers who looked like tourists - the business like people stayed on the plane). I knew something was wrong when I realized that we had "arrived" an hour and a half earlier than our stated arrival, and there was noone there to meet us. Sure enough, we had gotten off at Aswan, instead of staying on the plane for the 40 minute flight on to Abu Simbel!
I have to tell you, the people at Egypt Air were fabulous. Once we were all clear about how it was our fault, not theis fault (there are times when being stupid - in their eyes - females pays off), they invalidated the second half of our tickets, rebooked us on the next flight about 2 hours later, in business class, no less - and we weree on our way again. Air Canada eat your heart out.
Luckily, we had started the whole process early - 3 o'clock in the morning, to be exact. Our return flight from Abu Simbel to Aswan to pick up the Nile cruise was early afternoon, and I wasn't sure there would be enough time, but it worked out perfectly. The tour guide was redirected, met us when the later flight landed, and wisked us off to the temples, which were only 15 minutes from the airport. There are two main temples here, what is known as the great temple of Ramses II, and the temple of Hathor.
Nora holding the Ankh, the key of life...
ourr tour guide for Abu Simbel ...
The temples are remarkable for their scale, and engineering and art, but their recent history is even morre remarkable. Between 1964 and 1968, both temples were taken apart in pieces, each piece marked for location and orientation - more thhan 2000 blocks each weighing 10 to 20 tonnes), and relocated to escape the flooding created by the Aswan Dam (known here as the High Dam). They were then carefully oriented to face the right direction so that the rising sun floods the sancttuary with light on two days, February 22, Ramses birth date, it is believed, and Octobe 22, tthe date of his coronation. The relocation was a little off - what's one day over thousands of years - but still....
So, several hours leter, we were trundled off to the airport in plenty of time for our flight back to Aswan, where we were picked up by yet another driver who rendevoused with our tour guide from the ship. Our plane mishap meant that we had missed the Unfinished Obelisk, but our fellow travelers on the bus (who were to be our companions for the next three days) assured us that we hadn't missed much. Aswan itself is just a sleepy Nile-side town, with lots of palms and sand. The dam itself, or at least our view of it, did not provide too much to see, but Lake Nasser, caused by the dam and 500 kilometers long (most of which is in Sudan) is pretty special to see.
(this is known as the Lotus Tower, and honours the Russians, who financied the dam)
....and there it is
I should mention that the dam is in the area of the Nubia, the handsomest dark skinned Egyptian people. Numerous villages were flooded as a result of the dam, and the people relocated. The villages are underwater as we speek, as are about 22 temples.
Our final stop of the day was Elephantine Island, home of Aswan's earliest settlement which still holds two Nubian villages and the ruins of Abu, as well as a temple dedicated to Isis. We got to the island by boat
...our tour guide for today and the next three days...
we got to the temple itself by faluka, the Egyptian sailing boats,,,,
and after a very long and hot but satisfying day, we headed off to the ship for the anxiously awaited Nile cruise.
This is being written in Amman, some 4 days later. Finally, an Internet connection1 But we're famished, and so off to dinner. More to follow!
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