Day 17 - Monday November 10, 2025 - Heading to Aswan

By Ellen Outten

 


A bit of a nonconsequitor given the small size of the airport 

Today was the crazy early start.  We were on the bus and headed to the airport at 2:30 am.  Our flight was at 5:30 am and we landed in Aswan at about 7am.  

When all of our luggage was gathered and on the bus, we headed for the Temple of Phillea.  This meant a bus ride to a dock to take a small boat across to the island where the temple was reconstructed.  

The original low Aswan dam built in 1902 by the British who occupied Egypt.  As years went by the temple was submerged under water by the lake that was created with the building of the dam.   

Then the newer, high Aswan dam was built and finished in 1970.  It was necessary to build to protect the people from flooding.  

The relocation project, managed by UNESCO, involved building a cofferdam, draining the site, cataloging and numbering over 40,000 blocks, and reassembling them on the new, higher island, which was landscaped to resemble the original site. 

Pictures of the temple which was built in 690 BC to honor the giddess Isis.  

Sailing out to the Usland where the temple was reconstructed 

We’re bombarded by vendors trying to sell us anything.  This is one of their stalls.  The big thing is now Egyptian cotton.  The dam made some very fertile soil for growing crops.











Arriving at the Temple


The hieroglyphics are the most interesting piece to this story of the goddess isis









We left the temple by boat, again and made a stop on the top of the new Aswan Sam.   It is 364 feet high, 12,570 feet long, and 3,220 feet wide at the base. It truly is a feat of engineering. It’s also a military site so we weren’t allowed to use Video but pictures were okay.











From there it was back on the bus and then waiting zodiacs to get out to our home for the next four nights.

Our group has some age and in comparison some are too hold to travel.  We’ve had small medical issues some due to heat, and strenuous activity.  

Here I should say that I have diarrhea and several others do as well.   I think I got it at the GEM museum.  Wayne was fin until late this afternoon and he’s under the weather now.  I gave pepto bismol and some ills my dr gave me.  I’m feeling a bit better .  

I took a 7 hour nap thus afternoon and weren’t skipping dinner.  Two Tylenol pm for me and back to sleep.  .  

I had a chicken  soup for lunch but haven’t had anything else.  Drinking lots of water, too.  We’ll see what it feels like in the morning.  

rom there it was back on the bus and then waiting zodiacs to get out to our home for the next four nights.

Our group has some age and in comparison some are too hold to travel.  We’ve had small medical issues some due to heat, and strenuous activity.  

Here I should say that I have diarrhea and several others do as well.   I think I got it at the GEM museum.  Wayne was fin until late this afternoon and he’s under the weather now.  I gave pepto bismol and some ills my dr gave me.  I’m feeling a bit better .  

I took a 7 hour nap thus afternoon and weren’t skipping dinner.  Two Tylenol pm for me and back to sleep.  .  

I had a chicken  soup for lunch but haven’t had anything else.  Drinking lots of water, too.  We’ll see what it feels like in the morning.  




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