ASWAN, Egypt: Situated the best part of 1000 km south of Cairo, just before the first cataract on the Nile, Aswan might as well be in a different country. Owing to its location on the river, it's always been an important market and trading center. These days, although undeniably touristy, Aswan is a picturesque city which enjoys a relaxed pace of life. Which is why taking only 108 minutes to explore Aswan is borderline criminal, 108 hours would be more like it! But, it's still enough time to pick out and enjoy some of the highlights the city has to offer. 0 – 30 minutes: The Nubian Museum Start your visit at the Nubian Museum, a little way south of the souq, near to the Basma hotel. Opened in late 1997, the Nubian Museum houses a wide range of exhibits related to the material culture of the Nubian people. They used to inhabit the Nile Valley between modern day Aswan and Khartoum (until the High Dam was built), and can trace their history back to pre-Pharaonic times. The museum's permanent collection displays around 1,500 artifacts arranged chronologically, tracing the history and development of the Nubians from Palaeolithic times through to the present day. It's modern, well laid out and labeled, and comprehensive without feeling cluttered or overwhelming. The museum also includes a section on contemporary Nubian culture, and a fascinating section on the construction of the Aswan High Dam, and the impact this had on the Nubian people and their heritage. Half an hour isn't a long time, but it's enough to get a feel for the museum. If old stones aren't really your thing, you could spend your time wandering around the museum's beautiful sculpted gardens and water features. The building itself, made of the local red granite, won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2001. 30 – 60 minutes: The Souq Once you are done at the museum, either hop a cab or a horse and cart to the south end of the souq. (You could easily walk it, but time's a-ticking!) The Aswan bazaar is one of the most colorful and vibrant in Egypt. Unlike many other markets, it's set out mainly along one long, straight street, with a few side streets branching off here and there. Whilst the souq offers the same range of tourist kitsch as most other bazaars in tourist towns, many of the crafts have a more distinctively African feel. As well as dancing camels and alabaster Egyptian gods and goddesses, you can pick up tribal style masks, knitted Nubian caps, and even crocodile teeth. The spices in particular are beguiling: smooth cones of bright, powdery color. Check out the indigo, which is a deep, alluring blue, and looks good enough to dip your finger in and eat! It's added to washing powder, to give your clothes that whiter-than-white commercial shine. 60 – 108 minutes: Felucca Ride Once you've had your fill of the bazaar, head west to the Cornice. (If you are walking up from the south end of the bazaar, this just means turning left onto one of the side streets, and going straight till you reach the Nile.) It's time to chill out Aswan style, which means getting onto the Nile. You'll probably be overwhelmed with felucca captains just dying to give you a ride along the river. Make sure you pick one who seems reliable, haggle for the price, and ensure he understands you have only 48 minutes to spend on the water! The Nile is at its most beautiful in Aswan. Still relatively clean, it's a shimmering, inky blue that contrasts perfectly with the lighter sky, and the blazing brown, red and yellow hues of the desert on the west bank. Kick back, enjoy the sound of the breeze slapping at the triangular sail and the water splashing against the side of the boat, and bask in both the scenery and the sense of peaceful motion. The Nile in Aswan is peppered with numerous, lush islands. The two most famous are Elephantine Island, and Kitchener's Island. Elephantine Island was the first inhabited area of Aswan, and used to stand as the border between Nubia and Pharaonic Egypt. In Egyptian mythology, the island was believed to be the home of Khnum, the ram-headed God of the Nile cataracts, who was also responsible for fashioning the first humans out of clay on a potter's wheel. There are still the remains of a temple complex dedicated to Khnum on the south side of the island. The majority of Elephantine Island is taken up by a Nubian village of around 5000 people, who have inhabited the island for hundreds of years. The north of the island is, unfortunately, blighted by an impressively ugly Movenpick hotel. Kitchener's Island is a piece of land gifted to British Field Marshal Herbert Kitchener at the end of the Nineteenth Century. He set about importing exotic trees and plants from the region, and the island is currently a relaxing (though not particularly inspiring) botanical garden, which also houses an extremely quirky seed museum. Sadly, you probably won't have time to jump off and visit either of these islands, though you can appreciate them from afar as you drift past them. Time and wind depending, get your captain to head further south, so that you can catch a glimpse of the ruined mud-brick St Simeon monastery on the right, and the Aga Khan's mausoleum. As you spin round to begin your return journey, keep an eye out for the Old Cataract Hotel. This is where Agatha Christie stayed when she wrote part of Death on the Nile, and depending on the mood of the often bolshy and belligerent serving staff, is a nice place to enjoy afternoon tea. Your 48 minutes are probably up by now, but don't worry if you over-run a little bit. Time has no meaning on feluccas, which have been sailing the Nile (in one form or another) since the time of the Pharaohs. Lulled into contented torpor by the rhythm of the elements, don't forget to scoop and drink a handful of Nile water before you leave the boat. They say that those who drink from the Nile, are destined to return to Egypt some day! BM
