I am Wyatt Wang.Com

To be honest, the purpose of us getting to this far to Aswan was actually to go "further" south to Abu Simbel for the magnificent Great Temple of Ramses II. Thus, one of the tasks which we did first was to find ways on how to get there. While the easy way out was to simply join a tour and do all the mundane photo stops, I thought we should do it the backpacker way by taking a public bus. Somehow, no one was able (or maybe willing?) to provide sufficient advice; perhaps the people we approached were all touts? In the end, we took a taxi (E£10 or S$2.50) to the bus terminal (3km north of town) and confirmed the bus schedules before coming back to explore the town proper. After dinner (yes, we had another Kushari!), we took a walk along the shopping street of Sharia As-Souq (or Saad Zaghloul). The items that were the usual touristy memorabilia (i.e. if it is not about the Giza Pyramids, it must be something on Queen Nefertiti or Amenhotep IV's wife) on sale in the touristy markets of Cairo or Luxor. There was this particular stall where we had vivid memories. Sally wanted to buy a touristy t-shirt for his brother. When she shown interest in a stall where a young man (in his twenties?) was mending, he became very enthusiastic and tried to get us on trying the various designs (even though we remained pretty non-committal as he refused to tell us how much it cost). When we finally decided to buy a t-shirt, he did not agree to the price we proposed and became really furious. Before we walked out of the shop, he suddenly asks us if we knew where the Nile was. Without thinking, I pointed to the direction and he just told us to jump into it. Ha ha, this would probably be ranked as the lousiest experience of the trip. We woke up next morning feeling really fresh (after a good night sleep) and went to the Nubia Museum. For the amount of information it offers on Nubia and its culture, it was really surprisingly that it did not offer a larger crowd that it should (not to say that we like to share a museum with hordes of photograph-hungry tourists. 4 solid hours were spent here with the exhibits and quite alot of photographs were taken though it was a pity that they do not allow flash photography.

		It was interesting to note that the sarcophagus (or coffin) of the royalty was covered with hieratic inscriptions so as to help the deceased live happily ever after in the afterlife. p.s.: It was believed that this tomb belonged to Hekata, one of the many kings in ancient Egypt.
		This plaque (dated 6th Century BC) seems to have depicted the imaginary coronation ceremony between King Aspalta (3rd from left, kneeling) and god Amun (2nd from left, with a ram head) with his consort godness Mut behind him. Nasalsa, the king's mother, is standing on the right. p.s.: King Aspalta is one of the best known kings of Nubia. He is thought to have been a great grandson of Taharqa, the last important Nubian ruler of Egypt (690-664 BC).
		A nicely done model of the Philae Temples. And for awhile, I thought we were really there. Note: Temple of Isis, on Philae or Agilkia Island, was also one of the temples rescued under the relocation project when the High Dam was built.
		One of the mural paintings found in Church of Abdalla Nirqi, Nubia. It might have been depicted Jesus Christ or an unknown saint.
		I have to admit that I could have taken a better photograph of the model depicting the original and new locations of the Abu Simbel temples. Note that the original location (lower half of the photograph) is now submerged in Lake Nasser. This was one of the most important exhibits (in my personal opinion) in aiding the understanding the entire conservation effort to rescue the temples in Abu Simbel before the commissioning of the High Dam (7km above the old Aswan Dam).
		A replica of a typical Nubian house. Note: Fire extinguishers not included. :)
		A depiction of a Nubian teacher and his students having lessons by the side of the Nile.
		A photograph (taken in 1960) depicting the original temples of Abu Simbel.
		wyattwang.com doing it at the Nubia Museum (overlooking Fatimid Cemetery), Aswan, Egypt.
		A dog doing "it" on top of a car under the scorching afternoon sun in Aswan. p.s.: The so-out-of-place looking tower in the background is part of the Mövenpick Resort in Aswan.
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