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During breakfast we get a telephone call. Who good ever phone us here? An employee of Travco stands at the reception who wants to speak to us.

Egypt, travelogue January 2004 [5]

Elisabeth & Teije
2004-03-06 13:42:30

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Tuesday 20 January, Aswan, Nubian museum During breakfast we get a telephone call. Who good ever phone us here? An employee of Travco stands at the reception who wants to speak to us. After a complicated story about the hotelvoucher for Luxor he leaves. We are not sure what he exactly wanted. The fact that we visited the office of Travco yesterday has probably encouraged them to think of all sorts of actions.

Again, it is warmer than the day before when we take our seats at the terrace for some coffee. The Egyptian woman that serves us is so beautiful and so characteristical for this country (and fitting into this landscape) that I ask if I can take a picture of her. Elisabeth totally agrees with me. She feels very honoured but so do we. It is a pity I am not a muslem living here, then I could have up to four women...

From the hotel we walk uphill to the Nubian museum. It stands in a park with a surface of 15,000 square meters and has been opened in 1997. Both security and the construction are modern and orderly. We start with a walk through the extensive gardens from where we also can see the cemetary of the Fatimids, descendants of Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad.
The museum has a clear division and much more orderly than most Egyptian museums. From the prehistory we slowly walk further into time and each piece has a signboard with a clear explanation. The only hard thing is to get around the large groups that follow their guide and often totally block the way.

Most of the things which are shown here, have been found in the neighbourhood or relate to the Nubian background of this area. Like this wooden army of Nubians which was found in a tomb at Luxor, dating back to the Middle Kingdom.

Obviously, Ramesses II, the greatest builder from the past, has his statue in this museum, too. Well known are the temples he build for himself and his wife Nefertari at Abu Simbel, 200 kilometers ...