Asswan

asswan

So now I stayed 6 days in Asswan, and as intended, I leave all the temples, tombs and whatsoever behind without a visit, and I don't think that I missed out on anything. asswan is quite a busy city, but one just has to take the ferry from the city center across the nile and one enters a very calm, peaceful nubian village. though many families here depend on tourists, who take a ride on their fluka (sailing boat) or their camels next to the monuments, they've never tried to make any business with me, when i walked through the lanes and the paths along the water channels, that irrigate the fields, but tried their best to make me feel like at home.

most of the irrigated area is used to plant some kind of clover. they cut it bimonthly to feed their cattle, goats and camels. of course, there also grows much other stuff like banana, lemon, mango, marihuana and much more. they already discovered the pump there, but i also found some water mills run by a cow.

there also live some crocodiles here, they are said to become as long as 3 meters here, i've only seen a baby that disappeared in the high grass before i could take picture.

somehow there are no fishermen at all along the nile (on the leg i visited), they fish on lake nasser. some i met there on the lake told me that there's a predatory fish who sometimes even hunts fishers from their boats, reaching a length of 8 meters. due to the language barrier, they couldn't describe me what kind of fish this could be.

arabs and nubians live here together in peaceful harmony, conflicts between them are unknown. somehow the nubians are still discriminated by the government, as they have to adopt arabic names when they apply for a passport. their language exists only oral, and much vocabulary is removed by arabic words. for example they don't know a nubian word for "thank you".

melodies of nubian music reminded me of ethiopian sounds. i've not seen any group playing, they just showed me tracks from their mobile phones, modern arrangements with syntesizer. i've watched some arabic bands in asswan in the evening, sometimes quite good ones, but also here, all instruments except the drums were gathered in the synthesizer, like in a wonderlamp.

also in asswan the people are not irritated by the many tourists at all, i was often invited for a shay and shisha in the coffeeshops and they strictly hindered me to pay the bill, what made me feel ashamed, as it's not so easy to survive here and i have enough money spending a 1-year holiday. but my conscience was cleared when i paid something in any shop and recognized that they cheatet me, as they convulsed with laughter after i left.