ASWAN

The common thing to do in Aswan is take a ride in a type of Egyptian sailboat known as a felucca. We took ours an hour or two before sundown, sailing around Elephantine Island, and visiting the Botanical Gardens.

The next morning we walked through the streets of Aswan, visiting the street markets and shops. This is a typical vegetable stand, which we didn't buy from, though we saw foods that day that we haven't seen before or since. We did buy some more souvenirs at some of the shops, further perfecting our bargaining techniques in the process.

This is a really poor photograph of the famous "unfinished obelisk", in the main granite quarry of Aswan. (We couldn't get a good angle to get it all in frame and stay in perspective.) The obelisk is lying on its side, still attached to the ground on its bottom side. The view is from the top (tip) looking down its length towards the base. The obelisk would have been similar to the standing ones at Karnak, but it would have been the tallest ever made. Unfortunately it cracked during the carving process, rendering it useless, so it lays where it was abandoned centuries ago.