We are travelling by launch across the Nile river in Aswan, where the dahabiya we have chartered waits at her mooring on the East bank of Elephantine Island. From there we will sail down river to Edfu for the next few days, stopping pretty much where the mood takes us. There’s just the five of us plus crew, cook and Egyptologist on board, and as The Royal Cleopatra is a small vessel with a relatively shallow draft, she can moor almost anywhere.
In planning the journey, it was always this storybook voyage, rather than the bookends of Aswan and Luxor that felt like it would be the highlight of our Egypt experience, but reflecting on our time here, Aswan has been so much more than its must see Temple of Philae and the eccentric Victorian splendour of The Old Cataract Hotel, offering the briefest of glimpses of contemporary Egypt, amidst the antiquities, tourist tat and ever present high security, thanks to the fluent Arabic spoken by one of our party.
This superpower is immediately pressed into service at our airport rendezvous as he conjures up the first of many ancient Peugeot 504 taxis amidst the press of noisy, gesticulating taxi touts. Luggage heaved onto the massive roof rack, we lurch and belch our way up to our hotel’s hilltop eyrie. A brutalist concrete monstrosity with Pharaonic touches best describes it, but the views across the river to Elephantine island are magical and our two friends, who have spent the last week under canvas in the Western desert are just delighted at the prospect of a real bed.
It’s getting late, but Sharia as-Souq beckons with its spices and produce stalls sprinkled in with the amulet and Egyptian deity fridge magnet emporia, but this is no time for spice haggling as our real hunt is for an early dinner, which we find at a Mezze restaurant on the nearby Corniche. Once again we have packed way too optimistically for the temperature, which is unseasonably frigid. Finding our hotel room to be no exception, and unused as yet to the loud calls of the muezzin, we sleep fitfully at best.
Putting this behind us the next morning, we take the ferry to mid-stream Elephantine Island, so named for the huge rounded rocks on its riverbanks, where the delightful ‘Mr Tibbs’ gently introduces himself as we walk past his home in the village we are exploring. Normally we avoid guides, but his boundless charm and enthusiasm are so infectious that we let him take us under his wing.
Loading us onto his small launch he takes us first to explore adjoining El Nabatat Island, the former home of Lord Kitchener, who laid out its Botanical Gardens, then across to the massive desert dunes on the West Bank where we enjoy a medley of traditional Nubian dishes at a family (more than likely his family) run restaurant, including Bamiya (okra stew), Ful Medames (mashed fava beans), Tagen (fish stew with tomato and onion), Tahina (sesame paste) and Shish Taouk (grilled lamb). Especially delicious is Shamsi, a round flatbread that has been baked since Pharaonic times, and which is unique to the villages of this Upper Egypt region. The perfect vehicle for mopping up the Ful Medames.
Ful Medames: Serves Four or Five
I love the simplicity of this dish. It’s normally served at breakfast time in Egypt, so it was interesting to find it on this Nubian restaurant’s lunch menu. It’s a delicious vegan option at any time.
2 cans fava beans
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 or 2 chili peppers, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
1 cup chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
EV Olive oil
Heat a skillet with water and add the fava beans, salt and cumin; warm through then partially mash with a potato masher (it shouldn’t be too smooth).
Mash the garlic and chili peppers together in a pestle and mortar, making a paste, then add the lemon juice and combine into a sauce.
Add the chili pepper and garlic sauce to the fava beans with a generous pour of EV olive oil, then top with the chopped parsley.
Serve with warm pitta bread, sliced tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, green onions and olives.
Giving a wide berth to the camel drivers who are busy loading up tourists for a desert ride, we walk up the dunes past the Tombs of the Nobles to the Monastery of St Simeon and find to our surprise that we have the place to ourselves. Partially destroyed by Saladin during the second crusade in 1173, it housed up to 1000 monks at its height, and you can still see their bench-like beds in some of the cells. A few of the cell walls are daubed with surprisingly ribald Muslim pilgrim graffiti (this is one of the historic routes to Mecca), which Mr Tibbs somewhat bashfully translates for us. The views from the monastery walls across the sands and the river to the old mud brick quarter of the city on the hilltop are extraordinary. We have Mr Tibbs drop us at The Old Cataract Hotel for cocktails and watch the feluccas perform their age old dance on the water, as dusk rapidly descends.
Up early the next morning we re-visit the souk, where Sabrina with a bit of help from our fluent friend strikes deals on indigo, saffron and other spices from a stunning array of colours and textures.
At the island of Philae and the temple of Isis, our friend’s second superpower comes into its own as he translates the hieroglyphics which tell the story of Isis bringing Osiris back to life, giving birth to Horus, and mummifying Osiris after his death, leaving Mr Tibbs standing sheepishly on the sidelines, to the amazement and amusement of the other guides.
We wonder aloud how the dynamic with our on board Egyptologist, Mohammed is going to work as we visit some of the archeological sites down river!
Very fascinating .. looking forward to reading more
Another learning read. What an exciting trip. Xx