Aswan has been a steady stream of visits to monuments and other historical sites, in particularly a series of Greco-Roman temples. I've signed up for a picasaweb page, and the pictures from our trip down the Nile as well as our time in Cairo can be found here: The quick run-down on everything we’ve seen:
Unfinished Obelisk (at left)- Although small if it were to be erected, still powerful in size, especially from the angle from which we saw it and given that it would weigh over 12000 tons. Since it’s unmarked, no one knows whose obelisk it was supposed to be.
Philae Temple- One of the most beautiful sites we've seen the entire time in Egypt. It's on an island in the middle of the Nile down near the Aswan Dam, and the Greco-Roman style 
of the temple combined with the luxurious fauna all over the island reminded me more of Greece or Italy; it was unlike anything I would ever have pictured here in Egypt. However atypical I might have found the surroundings was compensated by the very Egyptian themes in decoration; the temple was for the goddess Isis. The other interesting thing about this temple was the damage done by later Christians and Muslims, who were intent on destroying the pagan artwork. The Christians also recycled the building, as it were, and carved their own symbols into the stone, like the cross shown amongst hieroglyphics in the picture to the right. Also, we were able to see the remains of grafitti from the 1700 and 1800's, which was really interesting.
of the temple combined with the luxurious fauna all over the island reminded me more of Greece or Italy; it was unlike anything I would ever have pictured here in Egypt. However atypical I might have found the surroundings was compensated by the very Egyptian themes in decoration; the temple was for the goddess Isis. The other interesting thing about this temple was the damage done by later Christians and Muslims, who were intent on destroying the pagan artwork. The Christians also recycled the building, as it were, and carved their own symbols into the stone, like the cross shown amongst hieroglyphics in the picture to the right. Also, we were able to see the remains of grafitti from the 1700 and 1800's, which was really interesting. Aswan High Dam- Even more impressive than the dam itself is Lake Nasser behind it, which 
is so huge that you think you’re staring at an ocean. There are also some really interesting Cold War politics behind its construction; basically, Egypt had remained neutral for a long time during this period, but needed the dam in order to supply electricity to the country. Lacking the financial means to erect the dam, Egypt courted the U.S. for money, but other ties pushed us to say no, and this resulted in Egypt getting tighter with Russia. However, especially since the renewal of good relations between our two countries during Sadat’s time, the U.S. has invested a lot in the upkeep of the dam as well.
is so huge that you think you’re staring at an ocean. There are also some really interesting Cold War politics behind its construction; basically, Egypt had remained neutral for a long time during this period, but needed the dam in order to supply electricity to the country. Lacking the financial means to erect the dam, Egypt courted the U.S. for money, but other ties pushed us to say no, and this resulted in Egypt getting tighter with Russia. However, especially since the renewal of good relations between our two countries during Sadat’s time, the U.S. has invested a lot in the upkeep of the dam as well.At night in Aswan, we went to visit the souq, or the local market place. At the market, you can find all kinds of goods, from spices to T-shirts to jewelry and other trinkets. It’s also supposed to be a great place to practice bargaining skills (and practice numbers in Arabic!). We ended up bargaining at one of the corner spice shops; many of us wanted to pick up some karkadeh powder (mixed with water this makes a delicious hibiscus tea). In the end, I’m pretty sure we still ended up paying higher prices than things were really worth. At the same time, I keep in mind the fact that while I’d like to get a good deal on stuff, we still ended up paying only $5 American for enough powder to last years, so a slight overcharge is not a big deal. One of the cool parts of this whole bargaining session was that as the salesman was telling the cashier the prices that we were supposed to pay (in Arabic), I caught him telling the cashier a higher price and called him out on it in Arabic as well. All I saved us was $0.40, but being able to understand that much was a good feeling.
Kom Ombo- Probably the smallest temple that we saw, the most impressive feature at Kom Ombo was the extremely detailed calendar from the pharaonic times. Michael, our tour gui
de, explained to us that Egyptians used to have a calendar (right) based on 12 months made of 3 weeks, each with 10 days. This resulted in a calendar year with 360 days divided into three seasons. However, the Egyptians eventually figured out that this wasn’t quite right and that they were missing 5 days because of the gradual change in the occurrence of the floods.
de, explained to us that Egyptians used to have a calendar (right) based on 12 months made of 3 weeks, each with 10 days. This resulted in a calendar year with 360 days divided into three seasons. However, the Egyptians eventually figured out that this wasn’t quite right and that they were missing 5 days because of the gradual change in the occurrence of the floods. Edfu- The huge scale of the temple here was its most impressive feature. Also, it was at this point that I thought 
heavily about the convoy that we were travelling in; it is now required that tourists travel together in these huge bus convoys throughout this area of the country and that they stick to a strict time schedule. Besides the fact that we had to rush around and couldn’t take our time exploring the monuments, this was also a very poignant reminder of how much time Egypt puts into guarding its tourism industry and making sure that no unpleasant events occur (in the past there had been attempts on tourist groups in this area of the country).
heavily about the convoy that we were travelling in; it is now required that tourists travel together in these huge bus convoys throughout this area of the country and that they stick to a strict time schedule. Besides the fact that we had to rush around and couldn’t take our time exploring the monuments, this was also a very poignant reminder of how much time Egypt puts into guarding its tourism industry and making sure that no unpleasant events occur (in the past there had been attempts on tourist groups in this area of the country). This is the god Horus, to whom the temple at Edfu is dedicated.
A final interesting note as we’ve been travelling is the persistence of Ramees towards Julia; though he knows we are travelling on the Nile and not in Cairo, he has been constantly sending her text messages, including queries as to whether or not she will be his girlfriend. Given that they’ve seen each other twice, this is obviously jumping the gun a bit. She’s told him to back off and that in Americans we don’t take relationships that fast, but so far it hasn’t sunk in. I think this is probably in part a cultural difference and in part something that should be taken as a warning sign too.
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