ASWAN

My hotel for Aswan..... On the Nile river... May 2009

Aswan and the Nile river at night.....

From my room at the Hathor Hotel....

Aswan, Egypt..... May 2009

Nile riverfront in Aswan , Egypt........ May 2009

View from my room balcony at the Hathor Hotel on the Nile river.....

Aswan, Egypt...May 2009

Yet another bad photo of yet another small wild Egyptian kitty....

This was a interesting place.....

A huge parking lot somewhere outside of town......

If you want to see Abu Simbel......

Get to Aswan..... Then this lot at 3:00 a.m......

You have to be in a police escorted caravan.....

You get there just after light and before it reaches 110 degrees or more....

You don't get to stay long..... it gets hot real fast once the sun comes up....

Not good for business to kill off the tourists......

On my way to Abu Simbel....... May 2009....

Somewhere in Aswan..... in the middle of the night.....

Getting the caravan together for a trip into the Sahara desert......

To go see.... Abu Simbel...... May 2009

This is my group from the Hathor Hotel.....

If you think I called it the Horus Hotel before.....

Let me remind you..... Hathor and Horus are related....

They both have temples on the Isle of Philae too.....

Just like Horus's mother ISIS has her temple there too....

Hathor the Elder and Horus the Destroyer..... I think.....

But.... whenever Horus is stated as king, Hathor is stated as Queen....

Sometimes he is the brother of Osiris and Set....

Sometimes the son of Isis and Osiris....

Sometimes the son of Ra......

The deities merge into others.....

The stories conflict and change over time.....

You see..... It's not just me.....

Here's our van..... (Awesome good air conditioning)....

Here's some buses and people hanging out in this very popular night spot....

And of course...... a rather creepy looking guy with a machine gun......

You sorta have to get used to the local scenery......

I think that's the same machine gun guy......

And I know that disheveled looking guy is me.....

In a parking lot ..... Somewhere in Aswan.... May 2009

It's going to be a big caravan.....

Somewhere in Aswan, Egypt... May 2009

O.K. ...... so here I am then.....

Waiting.....

In a huge parking lot full of hotel buses and vans......

In the middle of the night....

In Aswan , the last inhabited town in southern Egypt.....

Waiting for all those guys over there with the machine guns......

To say we can all head south now.....

In the dark....... for a couple hundred miles......

Right into the Sahara Desert for a day of fun and adventure......

On the road to ...ABU SIMBEL....

BIG ODD FUN

All I could find for Halloween was a used Hockey Mask and a noisey old Chainsaw....

Whatever will I do....??

ASWAN

Well...... I certainly like my room on the Nile in Aswan....

Balcony view from the Hathor Hotel.....

Aswan, Egypt..... May 2009....

Yes..... A nice room and a nice view..... I love Air Conditioning...!!

But.... Time to go out and see Aswan at night...,

I still have a couple hours untill the big 3 A.M. roundup.....

For the gathering of the Caravan and Escort into the Sahara....

About 300 miles south into the desert......By armed escort....

Over 6 hours one way......A full slice of Sun & Sand......

Untill you get to a true wonder....... ABU SIMBEL...,.,

BIG BIG ABU FUN.....

Exploring in Aswan.... Late-night on the Riverfront.....

Downtown Aswan.....

Along the Nile Riverfront Walk.....

Isis Hotel.....On the Nile.... Aswan, Egypt.... May 2009

Nightime along the Nile riverfront in Aswan.....

Unfortunetly...... I'm still having a little trouble reading Arabic....

Aswan riverfront area near my hotel....

Just down from my hotel I find a riverfront park.....

Aswan , Egypt.... May 2009

A very nice little park along the Nile river waterfront.....,

Aswan , Egypt.... May 2009....

It turns out that this little park by my hotel.....

Is where they keep the Cruise Ships here in Aswan....

You can only see the first row of them..... because.....

They park three or more deep..... I kid you not....

You enter the first boat from the gangplank (ramp).....

Cross through the lobby of some beautiful ship.....

Then out the other door to the next ship......

Across the lobby again on another beautiful ship....

Out the door and in the door to another beautiful ship.....

That's how it's done in Aswan.... Egypt..... May 2009....

A dark.... yet great photo.....on the Nile waterfront....

Aswan , Egypt..... May 2009....

I didn't know it of course..... when I took these photos.....

But..... After the -ONE AND ONLY-.... ABU SIMBEL.....

My next adventure would start right here......

In this waterfront park near my hotel .....

On one of those huge Cruise Ships....

BIG ASWAN FUN....

Late evening along the Nile waterfront....

Where the Cruise Ships Park......

Aswan , Egypt.... May 2009.....

NEXT UP:

A middle of the night gathering for the amazing: "ABU SIMBEL"....

I TELL YOU...... I WON'T BE THERE.....

I've Travelled Far and Found So Much.....

I have climbed a desert mountain by starlight.... Just to see the early rising sun.....

Walked on top the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and toured the Grand Canal in Venice....

Been lost under London, waiting in Luxor, and took the train to Vienna, Luxemburg, and Rome...

I have been swimming in Monte Carlo, and rode a camel in the hot Sahara sun....

I watched as Notre Dame lit up the Paris sky, and I've strolled through huge caverns a mile underground....

Travelled the length of the Nile, and took the stairs to the top of the Eiffel Tower.....

I've seen the great Catherdals of Europe, and looked over all the worlds Great Art.....

Having crossed Continents, Oceans, and Seas, by Air, by Boat, and on the Ground.....

I have enjoyed Calais, Charmonix, Monaco, and Marseille, and explored N.Y. , D.C. , and L.A....

I have been cold in Chicago, hot in New Orleans, sweaty in Aswan, and chilly atop the Swiss Alps.....

Stayed near the Seine, Thames, Danube, and Mississippi, and seen the Colosseum, the Pantheon, and the Pyramids.....

Been amazed by Brussells, The Vatican, and Stonehendge, then awed by Ko Ombo, Abu Simbel, Edfu, and Philae.....

This is all just a portion of what I've seen......

Still..... I tell you.... I've only just begun......

I've travelled far and found so much......

Don't expect to find me sitting at home......

I TELL YOU...... I WON'T BE THERE......

ASWAN

A great view of the Nile river and edge of the Sahara Desert.....

From Aswan.... In southern Egypt.... May 2009

Wait..... Hold on a minute..... This postcard view.....

It looks like the view from someones hotel room balcony....

Look at that..... Beautiful scene.... From Aswan, Egypt...

A view from the other side of the world..... May 2009...

Yes that's me.... enjoying my new balcony and view.....

Yes..... That's the Nile river and the Sahara Desert beyond....

I'm at the Hathor Hotel in Aswan, Egypt..... May 2009...

They call these sailboats Fellucas......

There everywhere on the river.....

From the Hathor Hotel in Aswan , Egypt....

May 20090

A very familiar looking building to the right ......

Oh yeah.... that's it.... It's on the fold up map.....

It's the same building as in the Tourist Map/City Guide....

As you can see..... I love this river view balcony.....

But..... Let's take a look inside.....

So here's the inside of my room in Aswan..... May 2009

Even though this photo makes the place look small......

There was THREE full size beds and lots of room to walk around.....

Plus air conditioning (gotta-gotta have) and a balcony overlooking the Nile....