March 2nd, 2026
Today’s excursion started at 8:30 and was a visit to the Aswan dam which provides hydro electric power and stopped the flooding of the Nile. It also created Lake Nasser which is one of the world’s largest man made reservoirs. It was completed in 1970. Our guide explained both the pros and the cons of the dam. One of the biggest cons was that it completely flooded the ancestral home of the Nubian people and basically eliminated Nubia which was between Egypt and Sudan. It also flooded hundreds of archaeological sites dating back centuries. Unesco helped move over a dozen of the ancient temples to new sites to preserve them. One of these sites was Abu Simbel. Viking had an optional tour to this historic temple but we opted not to go on that and it sold out quickly. The people who did that tour left at 7am and had to fly to the site of the temple. Those that went said it was worth it but a long day.
Electricity coming from the dam. This was our view along the way.
To get to the Aswan high dam you first pass the low dam which was built by the British between 1899 and 1902. The low damn was not high enough to stop the flooding and it could not store enough water for the multi-year droughts the region experiences.
The low dam.
The Aswan dam. You are not allowed any cameras with long lens or binoculars when you enter the dam area. The dam supplies 10-15% of all of the current country’s electricity needs.
Lake Nasser is massive and they actually have 7 day cruises on the lake exploring the ancient temples that are around the lake. The lake is 340 miles in length and covers over 2,000 square miles. Swimming is not recommended in the lake due to crocodiles and hippos which mostly reside on the Sudan side.
After the dam we went to a market where we had some free time. This market was not as much fun as the one we visited yesterday as they were not as willing to bargain.
They had several stores at the market that sold spices. Saffron is very popular in Egypt.
There were large murals all over town and horse and buggy rides were a popular tourist thing to do. Not sure why or with what this horse was dyed with.
After the market we all boarded a Felucca which is a traditional wooden, canvas-sailed boat that has no motor and sailed the Nile for centuries.
The boy, in the small wooden boat, paddles over to all the Feluccas, which are mainly used by tourists today and starts singing song in different languages until he hits upon your language. He holds onto the boat and is looking for tips.
It was actually chilly when the wind blew off the Nile and you were in the shade. The high today was 70.
This is a famous hotel called The Cataract and it is said that Agatha Christie wrote Death on the Nile while staying here. There are ruins all along the river.
The river boats are all lined up. The crew sang and played the drums and tried to get everyone dancing. Then they uncovered a table that had souvenirs on it including carved camels, beaded bracelets and necklaces and a few other things. Kathy got a great beaded colorful necklace for $ 7 and I got a carved camel for $ 2.
We went back to the boat at 12:30 for lunch and then we had a free afternoon. There was an optional excursion to The Cataract Hotel for high tea and to see the gardens but it was $115 each and we did not think that tea was worth that.
After lunch we walked the waterfront and garbage and broken glass is everywhere.
This was their version of a waterfront club. They had mats on the ground and cushions to lean against and the areas were separated by a wall. It is not busy now because it is Ramadan and it will pick up closer to sunset.
Some of the locals we passed on our walk. The guy was walking down the street with his harvest, we guess going into town to sell.
After our walk we went back to the boat and sat up top while I blogged and Kathy caught up on local news now that the internet is back.
Moon rising over the town, one of the large mosques in town and sunset over the Nile.
We had cocktails in Michael & Kathy’s suite and they invited another couple we have all become friendly with so there were 8 of us. We all brought stuff to share including alcohol and Kathy & Michael had ventured into a local grocery store and purchased several bags of chips and Cheetos as snacks.
We had a so-so dinner and then called it an early night since the entertainment was the resident piano player. Tomorrow we take another boat ride and visit a Nubian village and then a papyrus institute that shows you how they made papyrus to use as paper back in the day.