In Egypt we had a wonderful guide, Sherif, who we met on our first day of touring (to the Pyramids). Sherif toured with us all around Cairo and also travelled with us from Cairo to Luxor to the dahabiya. For our last day in Egypt, he suggested we go off boat to Aswan and he gave us a wonderful tour of this beautiful city. In the morning we saw the temple of the crocodile at Kom Ombo, then drove into Aswan. In Aswan, we had time to hit the highlights such as the Temple of Philae which was physically moved to avoid being flooded out by the new Aswan dam (this project was undertaken by UNESCO). We took a felucca ride around Elephantine Island and heard about the Nubian history of the area. We saw both dams. Finally, we had tea at the Old Cataract Hotel where Agatha Christie wrote “ Death on the Nile.”

It was a great day despite the heat. We returned to the boat as they were docking for the final night in Aswan.

Suggested reading about efforts to save Egyptian antiquity sites: Empress of the Nile by Lynne Olson.